0 INTRODUCTION

UNIVERSIDADE DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
FACULTADE DE FILOLOXÍA
DEPARTAMENTO DE FILOLOXÍA INGLESA E ALEMÁ
ACTION NOMINALIZATIONS IN EARLY MODERN
SCIENTIFIC ENGLISH
Vera Vázquez López
2013

Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
Facultade de Filoloxía
Departamento de Filoloxía Inglesa e Alemá
ACTION NOMINALIZATIONS IN EARLY MODERN
SCIENTIFIC ENGLISH
Tese de doutoramento realizada por Vera Vázquez López
baixo a dirección das Dras.
Teresa Fanego Lema e María José López Couso
V. e Pr. das directoras:
Asdo. Vera Vázquez López
Asdo. Dra. Teresa Fanego Lema
Asdo. Dra. María José López Couso

DEPARTAMENTO DE FILOLOXIA INGLESA E ALEMÁ
FACULTADE DE FILOLOXÍA
Avda.de Castelao s/n
E-15782 Santiago de Compostela
Telf.981 563 100 – Fax 881811818
Se hace constar a los efectos oportunos que la tesis doctoral elaborada por
Doña VERA VÁZQUEZ LÓPEZ Action nominalizations in Early Modern
scientific English está finalizada y cumple los requisitos estipulados en la
normativa vigente para proceder a su defensa pública.
En Santiago de Compostela, a 2 de abril de 2013
Fdo.:
Fdo.:
Teresa Fanego Lema
Directora
María José López Couso
Co-Directora

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Teresa
Fanego and Dr. María José López Couso, for their guidance and support over all these
years. They have given me invaluable input and have encouraged me to overcome the
many difficulties arising during the long process of preparing and writing my dissertation.
Thanks for believing in my potential as a researcher more than I do personally. Without
your help, this dissertation would not have been possible.
I also wish to thank Professors Päivi Pahta and Bernd Kortmann, who acted as my
supervisors during my research stays at the universities of Tampere (Finland) and Freiburg
(Germany). Apart from their valuable feedback on my research, they made me feel at
home when I was thousands of miles away from home.
For generous financial support I am grateful to the European Regional
Development Fund and the following institutions: the Spanish Ministry of Economy and
Competitiveness (grants HUM2007-60706 and FFI2011-26693-C02-01), the Autonomous
Government of Galicia (grant CN2012/012), and the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU
grant 2007-04509).
Quero darlles as grazas tamén ós meus compañeiros de doutoramento por todo o
apoio recibido. Quizáis porque todos pasamos polas mesmas etapas, ninguén coma vós
sabe cómo facer para que os malos momentos sexan menos malos. Grazas polos moitos
momentos inesquecibles ó voso lado e, en especial, grazas polos marabillosos recordos que
me levo da, xa nosa, sala C.
Ós meus amigos. A eses que estaban comigo dende moito antes de que se me
pasase sequera pola cabeza escribir unha tese e tamén ós que fun coñecendo máis tarde,

pero que se ganaron o meu cariño coma os primeiros. Agradezo o voso apoio
incondicional e os vosos “Veruchiña/Veruchi/Veriña/Verita, cal dicías que era o tema da
túa tese?” durante todos estes anos.
Por suposto, o meu agradecemento tamén para a miña familia, en especial para os
meus pais, Felipe e Isaura. Grazas por apoiarme sempre en todas as miñas decisións, por
estar comigo nos bos e nos malos momentos e, sobre todo, grazas porque todo o que teño e
todo o que son volo debo a vós.
Santiago de Compostela, April 2013.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. vii
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. ix
0. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1
1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION ...................................................................... 7
1.1. Defining the term ....................................................................................................... 7
1.2. The problem of categoriality .................................................................................... 10
1.2.1. Different views on categories........................................................................... 11
1.2.1.1. The prototype view ................................................................................... 13
1.2.1.2. Mixed categories ...................................................................................... 14
1.2.2. Criteria for the classification of lexical categories ........................................... 15
1.2.2.1. Morphology .............................................................................................. 15
1.2.2.2. Semantics.................................................................................................. 16
1.2.2.3. Syntax ....................................................................................................... 17
1.2.2.4. Discourse role ........................................................................................... 18
1.2.3. Category shift ................................................................................................... 20
1.2.4. Summary .......................................................................................................... 25
1.3. Earlier literature on nominalizations ........................................................................ 26
1.3.1. A syntactic approach to nominalization ........................................................... 26
1.3.2. A lexicalist approach to nominalization ........................................................... 27
1.3.3. Nominalization as “squish”.............................................................................. 32
1.3.4. Semantic perspective ........................................................................................ 33
1.3.5. Nominalization as an instance of grammatical metaphor ................................ 34
1.3.6. Cognitive-functional approaches to nominalization ........................................ 37
i

1.3.7. Text linguistic studies ...................................................................................... 41
1.4. Summary ................................................................................................................. 43
2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT ............................................... 45
2.1. The nature and characteristics of –ing nominals ..................................................... 45
2.2. Chronological development of the English gerund ................................................. 49
2.3. The structural instability of –ing nominals during the EModE period ................... 50
2.4. Summary ................................................................................................................. 55
3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE ................... 57
3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 57
3.2. Argument structure of nominals .............................................................................. 60
3.3. Nominal dependents ................................................................................................ 64
3.3.1. Pre-head dependents ........................................................................................ 65
3.3.1.1. Determiners .............................................................................................. 65
3.3.1.2. Possessives ............................................................................................... 67
3.3.1.3. Adjectives ................................................................................................ 71
3.3.1.4. Nouns ....................................................................................................... 73
3.3.1.5. Adverbs and adverbial phrases ................................................................ 74
3.3.2. Post-head dependents ...................................................................................... 76
3.3.2.1. Of-PPs ...................................................................................................... 76
3.3.2.2. By-phrases ............................................................................................... 82
3.3.2.3. Other PPs ................................................................................................. 84
3.3.2.4. NPs ........................................................................................................... 84
3.3.2.5. Sentential complements ........................................................................... 85
3.4. Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 86
4. RHETORIC AND THE WORLD OF SCIENCE IN THE EModE PERIOD ................ 87
ii

4.1. The rhetoric of science ............................................................................................. 88
4.1.1. The rhetorical use of nominalizations .............................................................. 91
4.1.2. Other factors favouring the use of nominalizations ......................................... 96
4.2. Science and the implications of the “scientific revolution” ................................... 100
4.2.1. The Royal Society .......................................................................................... 103
4.2.2. The printing press ........................................................................................... 105
4.3. The language of science ......................................................................................... 107
4.3.1. The role of Latin............................................................................................. 107
4.3.2. The vernacularization of science .................................................................... 109
4.3.2.1. Deficiencies in the vernacular ................................................................ 110
4.3.2.2. English made eloquent ........................................................................... 111
4.3.2.3. Opposition to the vernacular .................................................................. 114
4.4. Literacy in the EModE period ................................................................................ 115
4.4.1. The spread of literacy ..................................................................................... 115
4.4.2. Audience, readership and discourse community ............................................ 118
4.4.2.1. Audience ................................................................................................. 118
4.4.2.2. Readership .............................................................................................. 120
4.4.2.3. Discourse community ............................................................................. 121
4.5. Medicine and the language of medical writing in the EModE period ................... 123
4.5.1. Medicine and the medical writing tradition ................................................... 124
4.5.2. Medical writings............................................................................................. 125
4.5.2.1. Academic treatises .................................................................................. 126
4.5.2.2. Surgical treatises..................................................................................... 127
4.5.2.3. Remedy books ........................................................................................ 128
4.6. Summary ................................................................................................................ 129
iii

5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 131
5.1. Corpora .................................................................................................................. 131
5.1.1. The Penn-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Early Modern English ....................... 132
5.1.2. Early Modern English Medical Texts ............................................................ 134
5.1.3. Text sampling ................................................................................................ 137
5.2. Overview of the suffixes examined ....................................................................... 141
5.2.1. Morphology and semantics ............................................................................ 141
5.2.1.1. The Germanic suffix –ing...................................................................... 142
5.2.1.2. Romance suffixes ................................................................................... 144
5.2.1.2.1. –(at)ion........................................................................................... 144
5.2.1.2.2. –ment.............................................................................................. 145
5.2.1.2.3. –ance .............................................................................................. 146
5.2.1.2.4. –age................................................................................................ 147
5.2.1.2.5. –ure ................................................................................................ 149
5.2.1.2.6. –al................................................................................................... 149
5.2.2. Identifying nominalizations in the corpora .................................................... 150
5.3. The classification of nominals ............................................................................... 151
5.3.1. Parameters of classification ........................................................................... 151
5.3.2. Some problems in the classification of nominalizations ............................... 154
5.3.2.1. Nominalizations and coordination ......................................................... 155
5.3.2.2. Differences between nominal, verbal and mixed –ing nominals ........... 158
5.3.2.2.1. –Ing nominals modified by locative and temporal adverbials ....... 159
5.3.2.2.2. –Ing nominals modified by quantifying and manner
adverbials ....................................................................................................... 160
5.3.2.2.3. Ambiguous pre-head modifiers ...................................................... 161
iv

5.3.2.2.4. –Ing nominals of prepositional and phrasal verbs .......................... 162
6. FINDINGS .................................................................................................................... 165
6.1. Use and distribution of nominalizations in Early Modern scientific English ........ 165
6.1.1. Frequency of nominalizations in the EModE period ..................................... 165
6.1.2. Distribution of nominalizations according to the type of phrase ................... 170
6.1.2.1. Pre-head dependents in nominalizations ................................................ 175
6.1.2.2. Post-head dependents in nominalizations............................................... 178
6.1.3. Distribution of nominalizations according to their syntactic function ........... 182
6.1.4. Productivity of the nominalizing suffixes ...................................................... 187
6.1.5. Doublets and nominalization.......................................................................... 190
6.1.5.1. Overview of the data .............................................................................. 191
6.1.5.2. Chronology ............................................................................................. 192
6.1.5.3. Frequency of the elements of the doublet .............................................. 193
6.1.5.4. Constituents of each nominalization phrase ........................................... 193
6.1.5.5. Meaning .................................................................................................. 198
6.1.5.6. Summary ................................................................................................ 199
6.2. The acquisition of Romance nominalizations ........................................................ 200
6.2.1. Earliest attestations of Romance nominalizations .......................................... 201
6.2.1. Romance nominalizations in relation to borrowing and other wordformation
processes .................................................................................................. 204
6.2.1. The influence of translation on the acquisition of Romance
nominalizations ........................................................................................................ 206
6.2.1. Summary ........................................................................................................ 208
6.3. The use of nominalizations in relation to the variation across medical
genres ............................................................................................................................ 209
v

6.3.1. Frequency of nominalizations according to origin and text category ........... 210
6.3.2. Variation in the verbal bases of nominalizations according to
audience ................................................................................................................... 218
6.3.3. Summary........................................................................................................ 222
6.4. Summary ............................................................................................................... 223
7. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ................... 227
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 247
APPENDIX: ACTION NOMINALIZATIONS ATTESTED IN THE CORPORA ........ 265
RESUMEN EN ESPAÑOL .............................................................................................. 481
vi

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Functions of “purely category-changing” morphosyntax (Croft 1991: 67;
examples from his Table 2.1 on p. 53) .................................................................... 21
Table 2. Information provided by PPCEME for Boyle’s Electricity & Magnetism ......... 133
Table 3. Information provided in EMEMT for Bailey’s Preseruation of eie-sight ........... 136
Table 4. Number of words and texts analyzed in PPCEME ............................................. 138
Table 5. Number of words analyzed per text in the category of remedy books ................ 139
Table 6. Number of words analyzed per text in the category of surgical treatises ............ 140
Table 7. Number of words analyzed per text in the category of academic treatises ......... 140
Table 8. Overall figures for nominalizations, per corpus and subperiod
(normalized frequencies per 10,000 words in brackets) ........................................ 167
Table 9. Overall figures for nominalizations in PPCEME, per type of text and
subperiod (normalized frequencies per 10,000 words in brackets) ....................... 168
Table 10. Overall figures for –ing and Romance nominalizations from both
corpora, per subperiod (normalized frequencies per 10,000 words in
brackets) ................................................................................................................. 168
Table 11. Overall figures for structural types of –ing nominalizations (absolute
and normalized figures per 10,000 words) (N = –ing formations of
nominal nature; V = verbal –ing nominalizations; M = mixed nominoverbal;
A = ambiguous nominalizations) ............................................................... 171
Table 12. Overall figures for structural types of Romance nominalizations ..................... 174
Table 13. Use of nominalizing suffixes along the chronological dimension .................... 188
Table 14. Type and token frequencies of the suffixes analyzed ........................................ 189
Table 15. Date of appearance and origin of the first element of the doublet. ................... 192
Table 16. Origin of the most frequent element of the doublet. ......................................... 193
vii

Table 17. Dependents of –ing and Romance nominalizations according to period .......... 195
Table 18. Romance nominalizations: borrowing vs. affixation ........................................ 204
Table 19. Influence of translation on borrowing. Normalized frequencies per
10,000 words. (Translations from Latin or French in red) .................................... 206
Table 20. Overall figures for –ing and Romance nominalizations in medical texts,
according to subgenre (normalized frequencies per 10,000 words in
brackets) ................................................................................................................ 211
Table 21. Distribution of the bases employed in the formation of nominalizations,
per suffix and audience ......................................................................................... 219
Table 22. Number of bases specific to a kind of audience ............................................... 220
viii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Pre-head dependents of –ing nominalizations.................................................... 177
Figure 2. Pre-head dependents of Romance nominalizations............................................ 178
Figure 3. Post-head dependents of –ing nominalizations according to their
category .................................................................................................................. 180
Figure 4. Post-head dependents of Romance nominalizations according to their
category .................................................................................................................. 181
Figure 5. Frequency of –ing nominals according to syntactic function ............................ 183
Figure 6. Frequency of Romance nominalizations according to syntactic function ......... 184
Figure 7. Earliest attestations of Romance nominalizations ............................................. 203
Figure 8. Distribution of –ing and Romance nominalizations, according to
subgenre ................................................................................................................. 211
Figure 9. Suffixes used in remedy books by time period (raw figures) ............................ 213
Figure 10. Suffixes used in surgical treatises, by time period (raw figures) ..................... 215
Figure 11. Suffixes used in academic treatises, by time period (raw figures) ................... 216
ix

0. INTRODUCTION
It has been pointed out at various times (e.g. Dalton-Puffer 1996: 1) that English historical
linguistics has devoted much attention to the study of lexis, inflectional morphology and
syntax, whereas the area of derivational morphology has been comparatively neglected.
Since the publication of Dalton-Puffer’s important 1996 monograph, comprehensive
overviews of compounding and derivational processes in earlier periods of English, such
as Nevalainen (1999), have appeared. Yet there are still many aspects of the complex area
of English derivational morphology that have not been documented and analyzed in detail.
In order to bridge this gap, this dissertation examines one type of derivational formation,
namely nominalizations, and its development during the Early Modern English period
(henceforth EModE).
When talking about the distinction between nouns and verbs, it is generally said that,
among other differences, nouns refer to entities and verbs to actions and processes.
However, when we look carefully at the real data, we realize that this distinction is not so
clear-cut, and that there exist borderline instances. Among these are the kinds of
nominalizations that constitute the focus of this research, namely action nouns, that is,
those that do not refer to concrete entities but to actions or processes. Some examples are,
for instance, arrival, blockage, construction and amendment. Because of their complexity,
action nouns have received much attention in the literature, and their analysis has been
tackled from many different perspectives, whether descriptive or more theoretically
oriented; see, for instance, Grimshaw (1990), Picallo (1999) and Bauer and Huddleston
(2002), among many others. This study, however, will hopefully provide a fresh look at
this field, as it will rely on real data retrieved from several corpora of earlier English,
taking into account both intralinguistic and extralinguistic aspects.

0. INTRODUCTION
The specific object of analysis will be nominalizations involving the suffixes –ing,
–(at)ion, –ment, –ance, –age, –ure, and –al as represented in the scientific texts of The
Penn-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Early Modern English (PPCEME; Kroch, Santorini and
Delfs 2004), and in a selection of texts from the collection Early Modern English Medical
Texts (EMEMT; Taavitsainen et al. 2010). The analysis intends to pay close attention to
aspects such as:
a. the use, distribution and productivity of the above mentioned suffixes;
b. the syntactic function of the action noun in the sentence and the number and type of
constituents that collocate with action nouns;
c. the structural and sociolinguistic variables responsible for changes in frequency
and usage, if any;
d. the way in which these nominals were acquired into the English language.
As noted above, the register chosen for the analysis is scientific writing. This is
justified by the fact that nominalizations have traditionally been considered as one of the
characteristics distinctive of scientific English. Furthermore, the language of science in the
EModE period is of special linguistic interest because it was at that time when scientific
writing started to be produced mostly in English, rather than in Latin; until then, as is well
known, English was not seen as ‘eloquent’ enough for the transmission of knowledge. The
study might therefore allow for the detection of interesting changes in the stylistic
resources deployed by that register in the course of time.
In order to achieve these aims this dissertation has been divided into seven chapters.
2

0. INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 offers a review of the literature on the topic. It provides a definition of the term
‘nominalization,’ delimiting the object of study, and deals with the problematic issue of its
categorization. Furthermore, it also offers a summary of the main approaches to
nominalization found in the literature.
Chapter 2 is devoted to –ing nominals, since they are by far the most controversial
among the nominalizations analyzed in this study. Their fuzzy nature, especially during the
period under analysis here, justifies the inclusion of a chapter explaining which –ing
formations have been taken into account in this study and the reasons for this decission.
Thus, this chapter discusses the origins and development of –ing nominals, focusing on
their syntactic behaviour during the EModE period.
Chapter 3 discusses the issues of argument structure and nominal complementation,
and reviews the literature on the topic. In addition, it gives a detailed overview of the
nominal dependents that nominalizations can take.
Chapter 4 deals with the rhetoric of scientific writing and examines the status of
science during the EModE period since, as is well known (Atkinson 1999: xviii, Pahta and
Taavitsainen 2011: 1-2), the influence of the sociohistorical context has been proved to be
very important when dealing with linguistic variation. In connection with this, issues such
as the language of science, audience and scientific community, as well as the role of
literacy and the printing press will be discussed in detail. An in-depth account of medical
writing will also be provided, as a background for Section 6.3, which will be devoted to
3

0. INTRODUCTION
the comparison of nominalizations in the different kinds of medical writing.
Chapter 5 contains a description of the corpora used and the methodology
employed. This chapter tries to throw some light on the process of decision-taking. In
other words, the reasons behind the selection of the corpora, and the specific suffixes
examined are all clarified here; an account is also given on a number of problematic issues
encountered when classifying the data.
Chapter 6 is a corpus-based analysis concerned with the use and development of
nominalizations in Early Modern scientific English. It is divided into three main sections.
Section 6.1 analyzes the frequency, kinds of dependents, if any, and syntactic function of
the nominalizations found in the corpora. In a sense, it complements Chapter 3 since it
provides corpus data to assess the theoretical aspects expounded in that chapter. Also
included are the factors accounting for the various patterns found in the behaviour of these
nominals. Section 6.2 tries to account for the introduction of Romance nominalizations in
the vernacular. It thus deals with the different processes of vocabulary creation and
expansion as well as with the variables that may have favoured the introduction of these
formations, such as for instance, the translation of Latin and French texts. Finally, Section
6.3 analyzes the differences in the use of nominalizations across the different categories of
medical writing. It focuses on the frequency and origins of nominalizations in medical
texts, paying special attention to variables such as the intended audience or the writing
tradition.
Finally, Chapter 7 offers a summary of the investigation as well as the main
4

0. INTRODUCTION
conclusions reached. Suggestions for further research are also included.
5

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
The main aim of the current dissertation is the analysis of nominalizations, or more
specifically action nominalizations, in Early Modern scientific English. But before going
deeper into this issue, it will be useful to provide a clear definition of the term
‘nominalization’ as well as to clearly delimit the object of study. It is also equally
important to deal with the problems in the categorization of nominalizations in order to
understand how a noun can refer to an action, as verbs do, and to summarize the main
approaches to nominalizations in the previous literature.
1.1. Defining the term
Although a provisional definition of nominalization was offered in the introduction, in
this section I will define the concept in greater detail. In the course of time the term
‘nominalization’ has acquired different shades of meaning, reflecting a progressively
broader use. In Lees’ seminal work on the topic, The Grammar of English
Nominalizations (1968 [1960]), the term ‘nominalization’ is employed primarily to refer
to the syntactic process which enables the derivation of structures such as (1) to (3) from
clause structures with which they have a systematic correspondence:
(1) John’s careful hunting of the bear < John carefully hunts the bear.
(2) The physicists’ claim that the earth is round < The physicists
claimed that the earth is round.
(3) Their destruction of the city < They destroyed the city.
In works on morphology and word-formation, the term ‘nominalization’ has however
a more specialized use, to refer, as Bauer and Huddleston (2002: 1696) put it, to the
7

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
word-formation process “involv[ing] the formation of a noun from bases of other
classes, by affixation, conversion, or phonological modification.”
Finally, the term is also used, not for the syntactic or morphological processes
involved in the derivation of the nominals in (1) to (3), but for the resulting nouns
themselves. Thus nouns such as hunting (< hunt), claim (< claim), destruction
(< destroy), refusal (< refuse) or marriage (< marry) can be described as examples of
nominalizations. Such nouns need not be abstract, as concrete nouns can also count as
nominalizations. Quirk et al. (1985: 1289), for instance, draw attention to nouns such as
writer (< write) and liar (< lie) as instances of nominalization.
In this piece of research, these three closely related senses of ‘nominalization’ will be
employed interchangeably. However, the analysis will be restricted only to abstract
nominalizations. In other words, concrete nouns, such as writer, liar and the like, will not
be considered since this study is devoted to analyzing the complex nature of those items
that, being nominal in nature, refer to actions or processes just as verbs do. The term
nominalization is thus used here in a broad sense, to subsume both nominalizations
proper, that is gerundial (Reading it is interesting), infinitival (To read it is interesting),
and that-clauses (That I read it is impossible) which occur in clause structure in slots
usually filled by ordinary nouns, and also the kind of related formation that Chomsky
(1970: 188) labelled derived nominals, such as destruction in (4) below:
(4) The destruction of the city was a disaster.
8

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
The specific object of analysis will be nominalizations involving the suffixes –ing,
–(a)tion, –ment, –ance, –age, –ure, and –al, which derive from verbs and which refer to
an action or, as a result of semantic expansion, a set of actions (see Tyrkkö and Hiltunen
2009). These suffixes have been selected because they are the most frequently used
nominalizing suffixes to create action nouns, both of native and Romance origin
(Nevalainen 1999: 395-396). The same suffixes, except for –al, are also listed by Banks
(2003: 129) as those used for creating the nominalized forms of processes. I have chosen
to analyze suffixes of both origins since differences in usage and frequency may be
revealed. Banks (2003: 129) states that there are three different options for creating the
nominalized form of a process: those morphologically identical to their agnate verb, like
estimate or change; those having no agnate verb, but which still indicate a process, as
with trend or occasion; and, finally, those which have an agnate verb, but are
morphologically different due, for example, to the use of suffixes, like reading or
identification. In the present study, I have taken into account only those nominalizations
formed by suffixation and referring to actions and processes. In other words, the decision
was taken to leave out of the study action nouns obtained by conversion, such as attempt
from the verb attempt, as such nominalizations are difficult to identify and retrieve
automatically. All nominalizations discussed here consist of a “derivational base,” which
is usually a verb, and a suffix. Derivational base is understood in Dalton-Puffer’s (1996:
29) sense as “the most general term for the item to which a derivational suffix does
attach.” Suffix, as defined by the Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics
(RDLL), is taken to be a “morphological element that is attached finally to free morpheme
constructions, but does not occur as a rule as a free morpheme.” There are inflectional
9

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
and derivational morphemes, but only the latter are relevant here. These “serve both for
systematic semantic differentiation (e.g. father: fatherhood –abstract noun) (...) and for
determining word class (e.g. read, reader, readable –verb, noun, and adjective).”
1.2. The problem of categoriality
Nominalizations range from the fully-nominal ones, such as writer or liar, which refer to
objects or people and have all the features of a canonical noun, to nominalizations such as
verbal –ing nominals or gerunds, which show a mixture of nominal and verbal features
(cf. Chapter 2 for further details). The formations analyzed in this study, that is, action
nouns like vitrification, rising and observation, are not typical nouns in that they refer to
actions instead of objects. As mentioned above, under the label ‘action nominalizations’
are also classified –ing forms, which can show both nominal and verbal features, making
their categorization more difficult. In order to solve this controversy, this section revises
the literature on categorization in order to find a theoretical framework which can account
for the classification of nominalizations.
The following quotation from Sapir (1921: 119) aptly summarizes the
preconceived notion of nouns and verbs:
There must be something to talk about and something must be said
about this subject of discourse once it is selected. This distinction is of
such importance that the vast majority of languages have emphasized it
by creating some sort of formal barrier between the two terms of the
proposition. The subject of discourse is a noun. As the most common
subject of discourse is either a person or a thing, the noun clusters about
concrete concepts of that order. As the thing predicated of a subject is
generally an activity in the widest sense of the word, a passage from one
moment of existence to another, the form which has been set aside for
the business of predicating, in other words, the verb, cluster about
10

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
concepts of activity. No language wholly fails to distinguish noun and
verb, though in particular cases the nature of the distinction may be an
elusive one.
In the light of this quotation, it is not surprising that the categorization of nominalizations
and, in particular, of –ing verbal nominals has always been considered problematic for a
notional account of basic grammatical categories (Langacker 2002 [1991]: 97), given that
action nominalizations are not typical nouns since they refer to actions instead of objects.
In order to try to solve this problem, it is helpful to pay attention to the more general issue
of categorization and lexical categories. Although an exhaustive revision of the topic is
not intended here, my aim is to clarify some aspects which may allow us to reach a
conclusion on the classification of action nominalizations. Section 1.2.1 presents the main
views on categories, that is, the classical and prototype approaches. Section 1.2.2 deals
with the different criteria used to ascribe lexical items to one or another category. In turn,
Section 1.2.3 revises the phenomenon of category shift. Finally, Section 1.2.4 summarizes
the preceding sections and proposes a solution to the problem of the classification of
nominalizations.
1.2.1. Different views on categories
If categories are understood in a classical, Aristotelian sense, they are seen as clear-cut
and non-overlapping (Castairs-McCarthy 2000: 264; see also Robins 2000: 53).
According to this view, syntactic categories such as noun and verb are mutually
exclusive, and items can be classified in these categories “on the basis of necessary and
sufficient conditions for membership of each class” (Castairs-McCarthy 2000: 264). The
generative view, whose main representative is Chomsky (1965), adheres closely to this
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
classical view since their idea that language is a “formal system” rests on the assumption
that categories are classical, that is, characterized by distinctive features. Chomsky’s
(1965: 65-66) stance must be understood within the framework of universal grammar.
Therefore, as happens with lexical formatives, categories are selected from a “fixed,
universal set” (cf. Chomsky 1957: 13).
The classical Aristotelian view on categories supports the idea that nouns refer to
objects, whereas verbs refer to actions. However, a quick look at real language calls this
statement into question. For example, an NP such as (5) below contradicts the
Aristotelian categorization since the noun fall does not refer to a particular object but to
an action.
(5) The fall of an apple (Sapir 1921: 117)
Nominalizations fit better in a system such as the ones proposed by Sapir (1921),
Bloomfield (1933) or Malouf (2000). For Sapir (1921: 118), experience shows that
categories grade into each other and, on top of that, they are convertible into each other
(see Section 1.2.3 below), thus proving our capacity to codify the surrounding reality into
quite different formal patterns. Bloomfield (1933: 196) agrees with Sapir on the
impossibility of establishing a consistent scheme of parts of speech, as the boundaries
between word-classes are not always well-defined, usually overlapping and crossing each
other. Other authors (Malouf 2000) consider categories as well-defined, but much more
numerous and less general than in the classical view. Hence, in an attempt to account for
the diversity in real data, two main approaches to categories and categorization have
emerged: the prototype view and the mixed categories view.
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
1.2.1.1. The prototype view
Jackendoff (1983: 77) states that “[a]n essential aspect of cognition is the ability to
categorize: to judge that a particular thing is or is not an instance of a particular
category.” In this sense, membership in a category is determined by perceived
resemblance to typical instances.
Lakoff (1987), ultimately following Rosch (1978), proposes that members of a
category may be related to one another without all members having any properties in
common to define the category. Some members of a category may be better examples
than others, in the sense that some instances are more central than others. According to
this view, categories have degrees of membership and no clear boundaries, and members
or subcategories which are clearly within the category boundaries may still be more or
less central. Lakoff argues that categories show prototype effects and linguistic categories
are no exception to this rule. ‘Prototype’ is understood in the sense proposed by Rosch
(1978: 37), meaning “those members of a category that most reflect the redundancy
structure of the category as a whole.” This implies that the more prototypical a member of
a particular category is considered, the more attributes in common with other members of
that category, and the fewer attributes in common with members of other categories.
This idea of membership in a category being a matter of degree “resistant to strict
delimitation and subject to vicissitudes of linguistic convention” is also shared by most
cognitive linguists, including Langacker (1987a: 371), who also relies on the prototype
model to account for linguistic categorization. For him, a prototype is “the typical
instance of a category.” All elements of the said category must show some resemblance to
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
this prototype and, depending on the degree of similarity, they enjoy a certain degree of
membership in that category. As Rosch (1978: 30) notes:
[t]o increase the distinctiveness and flexibility of categories, categories
tend to become defined in terms of prototypes or prototypical instances
that contain the attributes most representative of items inside and least
representative of items outside the category.
Therefore, a prototypical noun will be “maximally distinct” from a prototypical
verb. Langacker (2002 [1991]: 60) agrees that physical objects are prototypical for nouns,
and overt physical actions for verbs (cf. also Lyons 1968: 318; Bates and MacWhinney
1982; Givón 1984: chapter 3; Hopper and Thompson 1984, 1985), but he maintains that
not just these prototypical instances, but all members of the class instantiate an abstract
noun schema, while all verbs instantiate an abstract verb schema. According to this view,
there is no reason for not including action nominalizations in the category noun, despite
their referring to actions as verbs do.
1.2.1.2. Mixed categories
The recognition of mixed categories is argued for by Construction Grammar (Goldberg
1995) and Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (Pollard and Sag 1987, 1994);
according to Malouf (2000: 6) this view “preserves the best features of both formal and
functional approaches.” Categories are still discrete and well-defined, as in Generative
Grammar, while still respecting the tight link between empirical observations and
categories proposed by cognitive linguists and prototype theory. According to this view,
grammatical categories are therefore much more numerous and much less general than is
commonly assumed. For instance, the fact that the noun child can occur as a noun with
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
the article the, but cannot take plural –s is explained in this approach by the fact that items
that can co-occur with the belong to a different category from items that co-occur with –s.
The fact that there are items such as book, which have these two features, is explained by
the overlapping between categories. As will be argued later, the nominal and verbal
characteristics of the verbal –ing nominals can be accounted for by their belonging to a
mixed category.
1.2.2. Criteria for the classification of lexical categories
In their 1984 article on lexical categories in Universal Grammar, Hopper and Thomson
revise the three criteria (morphological, semantic and syntactic) traditionally employed to
distinguish lexical categories. In addition to these, Hopper and Thompson point out the
importance of the context in which a lexical item is found, or its “discourse role,” in order
to determine its lexical category. All these criteria are examined in what follows.
1.2.2.1. Morphology
According to this criterion, the category a word belongs to is determined by the
inflectional morphemes that can be attached to its base. For instance, nouns have
inflectional morphemes related to case, number and gender whereas verbs show person,
tense and mood. However, when looking at empirical data, this criterion poses some
problems as not all members of a particular class adjust to this classification. Thus,
abstract nouns such as significance have no plural form, and plural forms such as mice,
for mouse, cannot be decomposed into base and plural suffix (instances from Lyons 1977:
372).
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
1.2.2.2. Semantics
In order for lexical elements to be assigned to a particular class, Bloomfield (1933: 266)
proposes to pay attention to “class-meaning,” that is, the features of meaning common to
all members of that particular class. For instance, there exists a universal tendency to
express time-stable entities as nominal category, whereas non-time-stable entities are
coded as verbs. Givón defines ‘time-stability’ as follows:
THE TIME-STABILITY CRITERION FOR ENTITIES: An entity x is
identical to itself if it is identical only to itself but no to any other entity
(y) at time a and also at time b which directly follows time a. (Givón
1979: 320; emphasis in the original)
However, there are many nouns, such as beauty or arrival, which do not refer to
concrete objects but to abstract qualities or actions. 1 For this reason, Lyons (1977: 387-
388) makes a distinction between first-, second- and third-order nouns. Thus, first-order
nouns refer to physical objects, especially human beings, but also to animals and things.
Second-order nouns refer to events, processes and circumstances that can be set in time.
Finally, third-order nouns are those referring to abstract entities out of time and space.
This classification overlaps just in part with the more traditional one distinguishing
between concrete and abstract nouns. It is also related to the prototype view, since it is
conceded that there exists gradience between the different members of a particular class
(i.e. nouns).
1 It must be conceded, however, that the majority of these abstract nouns derive from verbs or adjectives.
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
1.2.2.3. Syntax
The syntactic criterion uses syntactic arguments to determine the different categories. It is
generally believed that the use of this criterion goes back to ancient Greece, when Plato
established the distinction between onoma, ‘name,’ and rhēma, what is said about it
(Robins 2000: 53). However, Lyons (1968: 19-20) claims that this distinction between
subject and predicate took place earlier in the Indian grammatical tradition. Thus, Hindu
grammarians had drawn a distinction between nouns and verbs in Sanskrit some centuries
earlier than Plato did for Greek. Finally, this criterion is also used in Generative
Grammar. According to this view, the criteria used to classify items into the major
categories “are related to the usefulness of the classification to the formulation of rules”
(Hopper and Thompson 1984: 704). As Lyons (1968: 151) claims,
The way in which we have arrived at the particular decisions [about
grammatical categories] (…) is, in principle, irrelevant (…) What
matters is whether one classification rather than another enables the
grammarian to formulate a set of rules which will include the maximum
number of acceptable sentences and the minimum number of
unacceptable sentences among the total set of sentences which the
grammar generates.
Thus, for this approach “it is the abstract system of grammar which predetermines the
membership of a form in its category: in essence, the system of syntactic rules ‘defines’
the categories” (Hopper and Thompson 1984: 704). This view eliminates ambiguous
forms as ambiguities are solved thanks to deep structures. In Generative Grammar, deep
structure is an underlying structure which determines the semantic interpretation of a
sentence (Chomsky 1965: 16). When a series of transformations are applied to deep
structure “in accordance with certain universal conditions and certain particular
17

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
constraints of the grammar in question” (Chomsky 1970: 185), the surface structure, that
is, the phonetic interpretation is determined. Deep structure seeks to unify several related
constructions. For instance, an active sentence and its passive counterpart have the same
deep structure, but a different surface structure. The fact that verbal –ing nominals have
both nominal and verbal properties is explained under this analysis by saying that verbal
–ing formations involve a grammatical transformation from an underlying sentence-like
structure (Chomsky 1970: 187).
1.2.2.4. Discourse role
Since the previous criteria do not serve to account for all possible instances of a given
category, Hopper and Thompson (1984: 708) introduce the criterion of “discourse role.”
According to this view, linguistic forms lack categoriality, and nounhood or verbhood is
forced on them by discourse. In this sense, the categories of noun and verb are not
“given” aprioristically to construct sentences out of them. On the contrary, they manifest
themselves only when the discourse requires it. The fact that the noun fox in example (6)
below is a prototypical noun does not have to do so much with the fact that it is a visible
object but with the role it plays in the discourse.
(6) Early in the chase the hounds started up an old red fox, and we
hunted him all morning. (Hopper and Thompson 1984: 708)
Hopper and Thompson (1984: 708) thus propose that “the extent to which prototypical
nounhood is achieved is a function of the degree to which the form in question serves to
introduce a participant into the discourse.” Later on, in their 1985 article on the iconicity
of universal categories, Hopper and Thompson reintroduce the issue of discourse role,
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
and list more instances to justify this criterion. Hence, a stem which has the semantic
features of a prototypical verb, like travel, is only prototypical when the event of
travelling is asserted, as in (7a) below. However, it is less prototypical in contexts such as
those in (7b), (7c) and (7d):
(7) a. We traveled from Sweden to Greece.
b. To travel from Sweden to Greece takes a lot of time.
c. We know a traveling salesman.
d. The woman traveling with the computer is in seat 17A. (Hopper
and Thompson 1985: 156)
It thus seems that the discourse role is the main factor which conditions if a lexical
item will surface as a central or a peripheral member of its category. In fact, Hopper and
Thompson (1985: 158) propose that the fact that prototypical verbs are “kinetic” whereas
prototypical nouns are “thing-like” has to do with the nature of the events and participants
they refer to respectively, rather than with some intrinsic semantic features of these two
prototypical categories. In other words, in contexts where no participant is being referred
to or identified, or in which no discrete event is being reported, the overt grammatical
contrast between nouns and verbs is reduced or even cancelled. Thus there is no overt
morphological difference between the noun bear in (8) below and the “verb” travel in
(7b) above. In (8) bear cannot take determiners, modifiers and the plural suffix –s,
whereas travel does not allow for markers of tense, aspect and person/number agreement,
as prototypical verbs do.
(8) We went bear-trapping in the woods.
This behaviour is predicted by Hopper and Thompson’s (1985: 151) “Iconicity of Lexical
Categories Principle:”
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
[t]he more a form refers to a discrete discourse entity or reports a
discrete discourse event, the more distinct will be its linguistic form
from neighboring forms, both paradigmatically and syntagmatically.
Both Du Bois (1980) and Givón (1982: 85, emphasis in the original) have pointed
out that “the coding of participants in a particular event depends on the communicative
intent of the speaker uttering the discourse, specifically on whether a particular individual
argument (NP) is going to be important enough in the subsequent discourse, i.e., whether
its specific identity is important, or only its generic type membership.”
Hopper and Thompson (1985: 174) also pay attention to nominalizations since
they illustrate very well another instance of the “Iconicity of Lexical Categories
Principle.” In this case, an originally verbal element is functioning as a noun, that is, as an
argument of another verb, as in (9a) and (9b) below. The Iconicity of Lexical Categories
Principle predicts that such verbs will signal relatively few of the oppositions associated
with cardinal event-reporting verbs. Data from a range of languages confirm this
prediction. In English, for example, tense distinctions are neutralized as can be seen in the
instances below:
1.2.3. Category shift
(9) a. We accepted her resignation.
b. The mechanization of the weaving textiles. 2
Hopper and Thompson (1985) propose that the semantic content of roots makes them
more likely to belong to one specific category rather than to another. However, languages
have derivational morphological processes for converting members of one category into
2 Weaving also included in the original. However, since it is not a nominalization, but a participle, it has not
been highlighted.
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
members of another, what Hopper and Thompson (1984, 1985) call “category shifts.” For
instance, nominal roots can be converted into verbs and verbal roots can be converted into
nominal forms. Some of these processes contribute semantic content to the resulting form.
Croft (1988, 1991: 51-52) ascribes an important role to pragmatic functions as a
way to organize information in discourse. He proposes that syntactic functions are
propositional speech acts (cf. Searle 1969: 24) that organize the information denoted by
the lexical roots for communication and thereby conceptualize it in a certain way, as
shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Functions of “purely category-changing” morphosyntax (Croft 1991: 67;
examples from his Table 2.1 on p. 53)
Objects
Properties
Actions
Reference Modification Predication
genitives, adjectivalizations,
predicate
PP’s on nouns
nominal
(vehicle’s, vehicular, of/in/etc, the (be a/the vehicle)
vehicle)
UNMARKED NOUNS
(vehicle)
Deadjectival
nouns
(e.g. whiteness)
action nominals,
complements,
infinitives,
gerunds
(destruction, to destroy)
UNMARKED ADJECTIVES
(white)
participles,
relative
clauses
(destroying, destroyed)
predicate
adjectives
(be white)
UNMARKED
VERBS
(destroy)
The externally defined function of a surface nominal is “reference,” that is, getting the
hearer to identify an entity as what the speaker is talking about. Verbs are usually
intended for “predication,” to communicate what the speaker wants to say about the
referent. The externally relevant function of adjectives is “modification,” which can be
restrictive or non-restrictive. Restrictive modification helps fix the identity of what one is
talking about by narrowing the description, that is, it is referential in a sense. By contrast,
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
non-restrictive modification provides a secondary comment on the head that it modifies.
It adds a predication to the main predication.
When an object or a property is intended to be used predicatively, its morphology
does not change, it only requires the support of the auxiliary be, which carries the relevant
verbal inflections. When used for modification, verbs require an additional morpheme.
This morpheme can be a bound affix (the sleeping child) or a phonologically relatively
free form, as in relative clause constructions (the child who was sleeping), where a finite
predicate form is syntactically subordinated to the nominal head. In the case of nouns,
most of them require the presence of an additional morpheme. Morphological affixation
to the roots may occur as in vehicular in Table 1 above. The usual morphosyntactic
means for expressing adnominal modification is some sort of genitive construction
(English has two forms; see sections 3.3.1.2 and 3.3.2.1). Nouns can also function as
posthead modifiers, but they require the use of prepositions such as for, with, in, by, etc.
(e.g. in the vehicle).
Verbs can have a referential function by undergoing nominalization processes.
Croft (1991: 49) claims that nominalized forms lose verbal character and gain nominal
character. This is also supported by Langacker (2002 [1991]: 98) when he points out the
semantic difference between the verb explode and its nominalization explosion. As he
concedes, both can be used to describe the same event, but they contrast semantically
since they employ different images to structure the same conceptual content. While
explode imposes a processual construal on the profiled event, explosion portrays it as an
22

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
abstract region. In other words, nominalizing a verb necessarily endows it with the
conceptual properties characteristic of nouns.
Since human cognition can deal with concrete entities more easily than with
abstractions, language uses nominalizations or metaphorical processes (see Section 1.3.5)
in order to treat something abstract as if it were concrete. As Lakoff and Johnson (1980:
30) put it, “[w]e use ontological metaphors to comprehend events, actions, activities and
states. Events and actions are conceptualized metaphorically as objects.” The resulting
form is both an event and an entity, and it tends to be marked with a signal indicating it.
Hence, languages usually have special nominalizing morphology, but no special
verbalizing morphology (Hopper and Thompson 1985: 177). Thus, for instance, English
requires affixes to convert a verbal root into a nominal, but not to change a nominal root
into a verbal form. It suffices to use the root as a verb, attaching standard verbal tenseaspect-mood
and person morphology directly to it, as in (10) below.
(10) We squirreled away $ 500 last year.
Hopper and Thompson (1985: 177) argue that this difference is due to the different
functions in discourse of nouns and verbs. That is, a nominalization is not a bona fide or
prototypical noun since it still names or refers to an event, albeit one which is being
referred to rather than reported on in the discourse. In Croft’s (1991) terms, it has a
referential rather than a predicative function. However, a denominal verb does not refer to
an entity anymore, so it has no points in common with the nominal category and can be
considered a bona fide or prototypical verb. Take, for instance, the nominalizations in
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
sentences (11a) and (11b) below. Preparation in (11a) refers to the actual event of
someone’s preparing a manuscript, and it is said that this event lasts for several weeks.
Despite its being an event, it is treated grammatically as if it were an entity, and as such it
is commented on. Mixture in (11b) refers to a concrete entity, as can be inferred from the
fact that it can be ‘shaped.’ However, an event of mixing must still have taken place.
(11) a. The preparation of the manuscript takes several weeks.
b. The resulting mixture is shaped into balls.
The “Iconicity of Lexical Categories Principle” (Hopper and Thompson 1985:
178) predicts that “a form referring to an event which is being taken as an entity is
functioning neither to report an event nor to refer to a manipulable entity, but has
elements of both.” It could be very well expected that its morphology reflects this
ambivalence, and that is why nominalizations show verbal features such as aspect or
mood and argument-taking properties, as well as nominal ones such as possessive
markers or determiners (see Chapter 3). As De Smet (2010: 1186) claims,
[b]y their nature, deverbal nominalizations and adjectivizations are
atypical members of their word class, as they designate events rather
than objects or properties. It is therefore understandable that they get
luted into clausal syntax, but because this requires a complex
reconfiguration of the syntax of a phrase into that of a clause (...), the
change is inevitably gradual. Even when the phrase has become a
proper clause its distribution will still be reminiscent of its phrasal
origins. The history of such nonfinite clauses is a long story of gradual
dissociation from their phrasal origin.
In short, despite being semantically predisposed to belong to a particular category,
roots can be turned into items of a different category through derivational processes. It is
sometimes the case that lexical elements, such as nominalizations, shifting from a
category to another exhibit semantic and morphological features of both categories.
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
1.2.4. Summary
We have shown that the rigid traditional Aristotelian view on categories cannot account
for problematic lexical items such as nominalizations. Action nouns share the syntactic
behaviour of other nouns. However they refer to actions rather than objects, contrary to
typical nouns. With regard to verbal –ing nominals in particular, they have characteristics
of both nouns and verbs. If categories were rigid containers, nominalizations would fit
neither in the nominal nor in the verbal categories. However, if the prototype approach is
adopted instead, nominalizations can be included in the category of nouns, conceding that
they are not central members of the category. For this reason, they may share some
features with members of other categories.
This section has also dealt with the importance of the role of discourse in
categorization. Hopper and Thompson (1984, 1985) propose that lexical items are
acategorial a priori, and acquire the features of a particular category only by the pressure
of discourse. The importance of discourse and the codification of arguments is
highlighted in the quotation from Sapir (1921) opening Section 1.2. The topics of our
discourse are usually encoded as nouns, whereas verbs are used to say something about
nouns. It is true that subjects are usually people, and to a lesser extent objects, but we also
have the possibility of speaking about actions and events by using morphological
processes. This is what is called a category shift. Nominalizations constitute a good
example of this phenomenon. Despite referring to actions, they have a referential rather
than a predicative function in discourse. This ambivalence is also reflected in their
morphology, which differs in some respects from that of prototypical nouns.
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
1.3. Earlier literature on nominalizations
It is undeniable that nominalizations have played a prominent role in the history of
linguistic theory, judging from the abundant literature on the topic. They have been
tackled from many different angles. Thus, there are syntactic approaches to the topic such
as those by Chomsky (1964) and Lees (1968 [1960]); semantic approaches such as
Vendler’s (1967) and Rathert and Alexiadou’s (2010); approaches to nominalizations as
instances of grammatical metaphor (Halliday 2004 [1985]; Banks 2008); cognitivefunctional
approaches such as Heyvaert’s (2003); and textual studies (Downing 2000;
Albentosa-Hernández and Moya-Guijarro 2001). These and other approaches will be
reviewed in what follows in order to give as detailed an account as possible of what has
already been said concerning nominalizations.
1.3.1. A syntactic approach to nominalization
Nominalizations were amongst the first phenomena analyzed by generativists. As early as
1964, Chomsky deals with them within the framework of his model of grammar. In order
to account for the systematic relations between sentences, as for instance the activepassive
relation, Chomsky makes use of transformations, that is, operations by which
“transforms of the second sentence replace the components of the first” (Chomsky 1964:
230). Nominalizations are presented as one of the generalized transformations of English.
Interest in nominalizations continued with the publication of Lees (1968 [1960]),
who investigates the behaviour of nominalizations with respect to argument structure, and
the issue of whether or not the argument structure of the source verbs is shared by the
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
nominals derived from them. Writing within the same tradition, Grimshaw (1990: 59)
argues that, although all nominals have lexical structure, or a related conceptual structure,
only the complex event nominals, such as construction, have argument structure, like
verbs (Grimshaw 1990: 26). Nominals of this kind differ from simple event nominals,
such as exam, and result nominals, such as examination. Result nominals name the
“output of a process or an element associated with the process” (Grimshaw 1990: 49), and
are in the possession of an event structure, which “represents the aspectual analysis of the
clause, and determines such things as which adjuncts are admissible, what scope of
elements (…) will be and so forth” (Grimshaw 1990: 26) (see Section 3.2 below). For
example, the complex event nominal shooting (< shoot) shares the same argument
structure as its base verb, that is (Agent (Theme)):
(12) Peter shoots ducks < Peter’s shooting of ducks
According to Grimshaw, this means that only nominals of this kind will take
obligatory arguments as verbs do. The complex issue of argument structure will be further
developed in Chapter 3.
1.3.2. A lexicalist approach to nominalization
In a seminal paper on the nature of nominalization, Chomsky (1970) argues for the
formulation of a lexicalist theory contrasting with the transformational one, which had
been taken for granted up to that time. He thinks of grammar as
a tightly organized system; (…) enrichment of one component of the
grammar will permit simplification in other parts. Thus certain
descriptive problems can be handled by enriching the lexicon and
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
simplifying the categorical component of the base, or conversely; or by
simplifying the base at the cost of greater complexity of
transformations, or conversely. (Chomsky 1970: 185)
According to this approach, a grammar has a base which contains both a lexicon and a
categorial component. The lexicon is made up of lexical entries, each of which is “a
system of specified features” (Chomsky 1970: 184), and the categorial component is a
context-free grammar, understood as “one in which all rules apply regardless of context,
i.e. they would all be of the type ‘Rewrite X as Y,’ no further conditions being specified”
(Crystal 1985: 71).
The two processes Chomsky refers to in the above quotation are reflected in the two
different ways of approaching nominalizations. For transformationalists, nominalizations
are transformations derived from base structures. Chomsky partly agrees with this view,
as it proves useful to account for –ing nominals or, as he calls them, gerundive nominals,
such as (13a) below:
(13) a. John’s refusing the offer (Chomsky 1970: 187)
It is assumed that the nominalization refusing is the product of the grammatical
transformation of an underlying sentencelike structure (Chomsky 1970: 187). As a
product of a transformation, the gerundive nominalization does not possess the internal
structure proper of NPs, being unable to replace the possessive John’s with a determiner
or to insert an adjectival modifier (witness the ungrammaticality of The refusing the
offer). Furthermore, its semantic interpretation can easily be derived from the underlying
proposition in the deep structure (Chomsky 1970: 187).
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1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
However, Chomsky argues that the transformational hypothesis cannot be applied to
all instances of nominalization (1970: 188). For instance, there is no empirical evidence
supporting a transformational analysis of derived nominals such as that in (13b). Derived
nominals are proved to be very different from gerundive nominals, as they have the
structure of an NP, and accept determiners and inflections for the plural, as in (13c) and
(13d). Furthermore, they do not allow aspect markers, unlike gerunds; consider (13e):
(13) b. John’s refusal of the offer.
c. John’s three proofs of the theorem
d. Several of John’s proofs of the theorem
e. John’s having criticized the book (Chomsky 1970: 189)
The semantic differences between the derived nominal and the associated proposition
are varied and idiosyncratic. Furthermore, the productivity of derived nominals is much
more restricted than that of gerundives. Such differences between the two classes of
nominals seem to be evidence of the fact that they cannot have originated in the same
way. The incorporation of syntactic features to the theory of grammar allows the
formulation of the lexicalist theory (Chomsky 1970: 190). Chomsky uses it to explain
deverbal nominalizations, which are considered to be created by extending the base rules
to accommodate the derived nominal directly, thus simplifying the transformational
component. According to this theory, “the lexicon is separated from the categorial
component of the base and its entries are analyzed in terms of contextual features”
(Chomsky 1970: 190). Thus, a new way of explaining the closely related contexts in
which a nominalization (e.g. refusal) and its base verb (e.g. refuse) appear is provided.
When a new item is entered in the lexicon, it is free from categorial features such as
29

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
[noun] or [verb], just showing “fixed selectional and strict subcategorization features”
(Chomsky 1970: 190). Each lexical entry is provided with its own structural features and
selectional properties. This is the reason why different elements such as refuse or destroy
take different complements, the former having an NP complement or a reduced sentential
complement, the latter only allowing an NP complement. This lexical entry may also
specify that the categorial features [noun, verb, adjective] may determine certain semantic
features.
According to Chomsky (1970: 191), the fact that (14a) below is completely
grammatical while (14b) is not can only be explained from a lexicalist point of view.
(14) a. John’s amusing the children with his stories
b. *John’s amusement of the children with his stories
c. John amused the children (…) with his stories
d. He was amused at the stories
e. The stories amused him
f. The stories [+ cause] [ s he was amused at the stories] s
If the deverbal noun in (14b) had been created by a transformation of the underlying
structure in (14c), as is the case with the gerund in (14a), there would be no reason for its
ungrammaticality (Chomsky 1970: 188). This difference can be accounted for from a
lexicalist perspective, considering that sentence (14c) has an underlying structure of the
type seen in (14d) and (14e) (Chomsky 1970: 192). Thus, amuse belongs to a class of
verbs characterized by the existence of paired sentences such as (14d) and (14e), the latter
deriving from a causative construction involving (14d), as is shown in (14f). According to
Chomsky (1970: 192), these paired sentences “would account for the similarities in
30

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
semantic interpretation and distributional properties (…), and would also (…) account for
the occurrence and nonoccurrence of derived nominals” (Chomsky 1970: 192).
Chomsky also distinguishes ‘mixed forms’ such as (13a), repeated below for
convenience; they are those that seem to have the structure of NPs, so that their
possessive subject can be replaced by a determiner, as in (15b) below. However, the
introduction of adjectives seems unnatural as in (15d).
(13) a. John’s refusing of the offer
(15) a. John’s growing of tomatoes
b. The growing of tomatoes
c. The growth of tomatoes (Chomsky 1970: 214)
d. ?The frequent growing of tomatoes
Chomsky considers that the existence of these ‘mixed forms’ deriving from
intransitive verbs is in conflict with an extension of the lexicalist hypothesis. Mixed forms
such as (15b) are structurally ambiguous, in contrast with derived nominals such as (15c)
which are unambiguous. Thus, whereas the growing of tomatoes can be interpreted as
tomatoes grow or John grows tomatoes, the growth of tomatoes only allows for the first
interpretation.
Nevertheless, this conflict with the lexicalist hypothesis can be solved by adding the
feature [cause] to the intransitive verbs mentioned above. When the lexical property
[cause] is added to an intransitive verb, it becomes transitive, its selectional properties
being revised, the former subject becoming the object of the construction (Chomsky
1970: 215).
31

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
What this piece of evidence seems to indicate is that, for Chomsky, both the
transformational and the lexicalist hypotheses are valid when dealing with
nominalizations. The important point here is that the former applies with gerundives,
while the latter is correct for derived and mixed forms.
1.3.3. Nominalization as “squish”
As a reaction against the traditional transformational view, Ross (1973, 2004: 387)
proposes a “necessary relaxation of the claim that sequences of elements either are or are
not members of some constituent class.” That is what he calls “membership to a degree.”
Following this idea of “squish,” Mackenzie (1996: 327-328) also develops on the
“different points on the nominalization trail.” This nouniness squish leads from fully
verbal to fully nominal, as seen in (16) below:
(16) a. the finite clause
That my horse won the race came as a great surprise.
b. the gerund
My horse winning the race came as a great surprise.
c. the genitive-gerund
My horse’s winning the race came as a great surprise.
d. the productive nominalization
My horse’s winning of the race came as a great surprise.
e. the nonproductive nominalization
My horse’s victory in the race came as a great surprise.
Comrie (1976), who relies on both Chomsky’s (1957, 1970) transformational
approach and on Lees’ (1968 [1960]) work on nominalizations, does not restrict his study
to the English language, but also draws examples from Slavic, Turkic and classical
Arabic, among other languages. He concludes that action nominal constructions across
languages form a “continuum” from noun phrase-like and sentence-like action nominals.
32

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
In her cross-linguistic study, Koptjevskaja-Tamm (1993) also finds structured variation
which indicates that the squish in English corresponds with the range of variation across
languages.
1.3.4. Semantic perspective
Writing within the transformationalist tradition, Vendler (1967: 130-131) distinguishes
between perfect and imperfect nominals. A perfect nominal, such as (17a) below, can
appear with determiners, can be modified by adjectives and cannot appear in different
tenses or be modalized. By contrast, an imperfect nominal such as (17b) does not allow
for determiners, can be modified by adverbs and can appear in different tenses and be
modalized, as happens with verbs.
(17) a. the singing of the Marsellaise
b. singing the Marsellaise
Semantic differences between the two types of nominal can account for their different
syntactic behavior. Thus, in perfect nominals “the verb is no longer alive as a verb,” and
they behave as prototypical nouns. As for imperfect nominals, “the verb still kicks within
the nominalized sentence,” and for that reason their internal structure resembles that of a
VP. Whereas perfect nominals usually refer to facts and results, imperfect nominals name
events.
More recently, Mackenzie (1996, see also Section 1.3.3 above) has claimed that
nominalizations belong to a layered hierarchy in which every type has its own meaning.
These meanings range from a bare proposition to a fully specified predication.
33

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
The complex semantics of nominalizations is also the topic of a volume edited by
Rathert and Alexiadou (2010). The importance of this work lies in the fine distinctions
established in the semantics of nominalizations across languages (including Germanic
languages such as German and English, Uralic languages such as Hungarian, and
Romance languages such as Italian and French), as well as on the different theoretical
points of view adopted by the contributors, namely formal and lexical semantics, lexicalfuctional
grammar, and discourse representation theory, among others.
1.3.5. Nominalization as an instance of grammatical metaphor
Within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics, authors such as Halliday (2004
[1985]; see also Halliday and Martin 1993, Banks 2008) see nominalizations as instances
of grammatical metaphor. Human language is “a complex semiotic system, having
various levels, or strata” (Halliday 2004 [1985]: 24), namely phonetics and phonology
(both belonging to the expression domain) and, on the other hand, lexicogrammar and
semantics (both belonging to the content domain). The key strata for the explanation of
grammatical metaphor are those of the content domain, namely, lexicogrammar and
semantics. As is well known, language is a key tool for interacting with other people. To
carry out this task, language must deal with factors that go beyond the linguistic system.
Thus, language must make sense of reality and social relations and try to organize them
into words. This task is carried out in two stages. The first is the transformation of
experience and interpersonal relationships into meaning (stratum of semantics). The
second deals with the transformation of meaning into words (stratum of lexicogrammar).
34

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
In this process of transformation of experience into meaning, ‘figures’ play an
important role. A figure can be defined as “a configuration of a process, [which shows
the] participants involved in it and any attendant circumstances” (Halliday 2004 [1985]:
169). Consider, for instance, the figure in (18a). This figure, belonging to the realm of
semantics, is represented in the realm of lexicogrammar by a clause, as shown in (18b).
When there is more than one figure involved, there is a sequence, realized by clause
nexus, i.e. “clauses related by interdependency, or ‘taxis’” (Halliday 2004 [1985]: 375),
in the stratum of lexicogrammar. Take, for instance, sentence (18c). Finally, each of the
elements of the figure is represented in the stratum of lexicogrammar by a group, that is,
“a combination of words built up on the basis of a particular logical relation” (ibid.: 310);
for instance, the nominal group in (18d).
(18) a. having a shower ([Actor:] I + [Process:] had + [Scope:] one +
[Time:] yesterday)
b. I had a shower yesterday.
c. I had a shower that was really nice.
d. a shower
As mentioned before, this pattern of realization is quite fixed. However, the split
between lexicogrammar and semantics makes it possible to re-map these equivalences by
using grammatical metaphor. As a consequence of metaphor, the sequence will be
realized by a clause, the figure will be realized by a group and the element will be
realized by a word. Take, for instance, the figure in (19a), which could be represented by
the clause in (19b). By applying grammatical metaphor the clause in (19b) will turn into
the nominal group in (19c). As Halliday states, this metaphorical process makes it
possible for “the meaning potential of a language to expand, more or less indefinitely”
(2004 [1985]: 24).
35

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
(19) a. ([Actor:] They + [Process:] are constructing + [Object:] the
house)
b. They are constructing the house.
c. The construction of the house
Although nouns are generally used to designate entities, and verbs processes, the
possibility of nouns designating processes also exists, as in the above example with
construction (< construct). Each of these deverbal nouns or nominalizations is thus seen
as an instance of grammatical metaphor. In Halliday’s words, “nominalizing is the single
most powerful resource for creating grammatical metaphor” (2004 [1985]: 656).
As Banks (2008: 14-15) explains, this metaphorical device has two consequences.
The first is grammatical: the process, once encoded as a noun, acquires nominal features
such as the performance of nominal functions in a sentence: acting as subject, object or
prepositional complement, or the capacity of having modifiers and qualifiers. Consider,
for instance, (20) below:
(20) The total destruction (< destroy) of the city took place in 1870.
The second consequence is semantic. Concepts belonging to the verb class have
specific connotations not shared by the noun class. Whereas verbs are associated with
ephemeral processes having a beginning and an end, nouns are related to permanent and
steady entities. Consequently, when a process is reworded into a noun, the adoption of
this nuance of meaning by the nominal takes place. To clarify this statement, take, for
instance, the verb form destroy. It refers to “the action of destroying.” Once this action
comes to an end, it no longer exists. However, the nominal destruction implies a certain
persistence or continuance in time due to its condition of noun. It seems that the “meaning
36

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
potential” of the concept destroy has been enlarged by the use of nominalization. Indeed,
Halliday (2004 [1985]: 626) points to this fact when he states that “it is the pressure to
expand the meaning potential that in fact lies behind the development of metaphorical
modes of meaning.”
However, it must be noted that when the replacement of a clause by a nominal group
takes place, there is also some loss of information. Thus, Halliday (2004 [1985]: 657)
notes:
the Classifier + Thing construction alcohol impairment gives no
indication of the semantic relation between the two and could be agnate 3
to alcohol impairs (alcohol as Actor), alcohol is impaired (alcohol as
Goal), and maybe other transitivity configurations besides.
According to Halliday (2004 [1985]: 657), grammatical metaphor arose as a device to
construct hierarchies of grammatical terms, and also as a response to the necessity of
developing an argument orderly, as a way of using “complex passages ‘packaged’ in
nominal form as Themes.” Although textual research suggests that they firstly appeared
in scientific and technical registers, they later became common in adult speech, acting as
a mark of prestige and power.
1.3.6. Cognitive-functional approaches to nominalization
In her monograph on the topic, Heyvaert (2003: 58) argues against the tendency to see
nominalizations as “‘empoverished [sic] clauses’ whose main purpose is to
periphrastically realize processes and their participants and of which certain
3 Agnation is the “relationship between two grammatical structures which have the same major lexical
items, but are different in structure” such as, for instance, The dog bit the man and The man was bitten by
the dog (Heyvaert 2003: 35). See further Section 1.3.6.
37

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
lexicogrammatical properties (such as the inclusion of, for instance, of and ‘s) can be
ignored.” Nominalizations, in her view, should be regarded as “constructions in their own
right: they are reclassifications of non-nominal into nominal units or units which have
adopted nominal functions both in their external and in their internal functioning.” This
reclassification may take place at two different levels or ranks, namely, the word and the
clause (Heyvaert 2003: 48). Thus, a verb can be reclassified into a noun, as in (21a) and
(21b). In this case, both units remain in the same rank. Alternatively, a clause can be
reclassified into a nominal, thus being “downranked”, as in (21c):
(21) a. teacher < teach
b. Sam’s washing [

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
The concept of agnation has also been used in Transformational Grammar as the base for
the relation between nominalized structures and their ‘deep structure’ clauses, as noted by
Heyvaert (2003: 53): “[n]ominalizations and the clauses they are said to be
transformationally derived from are agnates in that they have the same major lexical
items, but differ in structure.”
However, Heyvaert criticizes the fact that, although used in the analysis of
nominalization, agnation has only been partially exploited. According to her, the
relationships of agnation often fail to be linked up with the semantics of the nominalized
construction in question. Furthermore, agnation is usually regarded as a one-to-one
correspondence between the nominalized constructions and the clausal structures instead
of being interpreted as a “network or grouping of structures.” In her analysis of
nominalizations, Heyvaert overcomes these weaknesses in the use of agnation. Thus, the
relation of agnation proves to be decisive for the detection of the components of a certain
construction (Heyvaert 2003: 56), e.g. the status as a constituent of the chunk in bold in
(23a) is confirmed by the evidence in (23b) to (23d):
(23) a. Sam’s washing the windows was a shock to everybody.
(Langacker 1991: 32)
b. You will wash the windows, won’t you?
c. What will you do? Wash the windows.
d. I will wash the windows. Will you? Yes, I will.
Likewise, agnation serves for the telling apart of structures that, though looking
alike, are quite different. For instance, at first sight the structures not going to school in
(24a) and (25a) seem to be the same. However, when taking into account their agnates, it
39

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
becomes clear that (24a) and (25a) are different structures: (24b) and (24c) are perfectly
grammatical whereas (25b) and (25c) are not:
(24) a. I still regret not going to school.
b. I still regret that I did not go to school.
c. I still regret the fact that I did not go to school.
(25) a. Not going to school is not a very sensible thing to do.
b. *That you do not go to school is not a very sensible thing to do.
c. *The fact that you do not go to school is not a very sensible thing
to do.
Furthermore, Heyvaert proposes that agnation is schematic in nature. First, it must be
noted that, as stated above, the relationship between nominalizations and clausal
structures goes beyond a one-to-one correspondence. It follows a pattern or schema that
can be deduced from the analysis of specific examples. As Langacker (1987a: 68)
proposes, nominals are instances of the same schema, “which captures the pertinent
generalization.”
Writing in the mid sixties, Dik (1967: 378) makes a similar point by stating that
nominalizations and the clauses they are related to are to be viewed as separate
constructions, as “the ‘derived’ complex word contains a semantic aspect not present in
the proposed underlying structure” and “the proposed underlying structure contains
semantic aspects not present in the ‘derived’ complex word.” Thus, a nominalized
construction lacks the feature tense possessed by the clause it is related to, as is shown by
the example in (26a). It thus could be rendered in terms of (26b), (26c) and (26d) below:
(26) a. John is the signer of the check.
b. John signs the check.
c. John signed the check.
d. John will be the signer of the check.
40

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
This evidence suggests that agnation relations are better captured if they are
thought of schematically instead of as a direct relation between examples, as in that way
agnation allows a generalization across the different temporal interpretations.
1.3.7. Text linguistic studies
A number of studies written, broadly speaking, from the perspective of text linguistics
have also concerned themselves with nominalization. Thus, Downing (2000) analyzes
nominalizations in press, or more specifically, in leads and headlines. As is well known,
leads and headlines are characterized by their brevity and saliency, and Downing tries to
examine the degree of encapsulation achieved in the nominalized parts of discourse under
consideration, in comparison with non-nominalized or less nominalized parts. That is, she
tries to analyze how information is agglutinated in the nominalized parts as part of the
process of packaging of information. What Downing (2000: 369) finds out is that affixal
nominalizations function as encapsulators of given information and this is the reason why
they are scarcely used in headlines.
Cowie (2000), in another corpus-based study, measures the productivity of the
Romance –(at)ion suffix over time, and discusses the reasons for neologizing. After
contrasting the different registers of the ARCHER corpus, Cowie (2000: 201) concludes
that nominalization in –(at)ion is a highly productive process, especially in technical
registers such as medical and scientific writing. As regards the reasons for neologizing,
she (2000: 201) points out that nominalizations in –(at)ion are used not only as a way of
organizing information, but also for stylistic reasons, as a marker of style.
41

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
Albentosa-Hernández and Moya-Guijarro (2001) deal with nominalizations and
reduction of transitivity in English scientific writing. In their study, they concede that
nominalizations, as well as the passive construction and the absence of “I,” endow
scientific discourse with precision. However, they also claim that these constructions may
render the scientific text complex and unclear. This is the reason why they warn against
the “harmful” effects of a nominal style (for a similar view, see Jespersen [1924]).
Finally, Andersen (2007) analyzes Norwegian deverbal nouns retrieved from the
Norwegian Newspaper Corpus. He finds that these nominals are “in a state of flux”
(2007: 83), that is, different nominalizations occupy different positions in the continuum
from what he terms 'perfect' to 'imperfect' nouns (cf. [27] below).
(27) Perfect noun ___________________________imperfect noun
Skudd slag brudd drap salg kjøp
‘shot’ ‘beat’ ‘breach’ ‘killing’ ‘sale’ ‘buying’
idiosyncratic
predictable
no argument structure
argument structure
no participant structure
participant structure
(Andersen 2007: 73)
Andersen (2007: 67) proposes that, by a process of lexicalization, the “nominalization
path starts with imperfect nouns in the direction of perfect nouns.” In this process,
nominalizations reduce or lose argument structure and increase semantic and
morphological idiosyncrasy, that is, they increase the semantic difference with their base
verbs in the sense that “there is no regular way the noun form can be derived from the
corresponding verb” (Andersen 2007: 71).
42

1. THE CONCEPT OF NOMINALIZATION
1.4. Summary
This chapter has dealt with the definition of nominalization as well as with the difficulties
to adequately categorize it. As we have seen, the concept of nominalization itself has
broadened its use across time. Thus, from the syntactic process described in Lees’ (1968
[1960]) it has evolved to a word-formation process in Bauer and Huddleston (2002) and
to the nouns resulting from both processes. As already mentioned, the classical theory of
categories proves inadequate for the classification of action nominalizations since they
are not prototypical nouns in that they refer to actions or events. Nominalizations are the
result of a category shift, in the sense of Croft (1988, 1991), and for this reason their
morphology reflects their ambivalence by showing both nominal and verbal features. In
fact, there is a continuum of nominal constructions, ranging from the most nominal to the
most verbal nominalizations.
This fuzzy nature of nominalizations has always attracted the attention of
linguists. Thus, studies on nominalizations range from those mainly theoretical, based on
the author’s intuitions about language (cf. Chomsky 1964, 1970) to corpus-based studies
which analyze nominalizations in a particular context (cf. Downing 2000; Cowie 2000,
among others). However, there is no comprehensive study to date that analyze the use and
frequency of nominalizations at such an interesting period as Early Modern English, a
period characterized by impressively large additions to the lexicon and important
scientific developments at all levels. The present dissertation, which examines the intraand
extralinguistic factors accounting for the expansion of nominalizations in scientific
writing, is therefore amply justified.
43

2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
–Ing nominals will play an important part in this dissertation, as is generally the case in
any study on English nominalizations. In Present-day English (henceforth PDE) it is
commonly agreed that –ing nominalizations can be subdivided into nominal (The
strengthening of the ties) and verbal (Strengthening the ties), according to their syntactic
features. However, during the long process of acquisition of verbal features by –ing
nominalizations, a process whose beginnings date back to ME times, the situation was not
always so clear-cut. In the case of EModE in particular, the period under discussion here,
–ing nominals showed a much higher degree of structural instability than their PDE
counterparts (see Fanego 1996, 1998, 2004a).
This chapter intends to shed some light on this transitional stage, as well as justify
why all kinds of –ing nominalizations existing during the EModE period, namely
nominal, verbal and mixed (the strengthening the ties), have been included in the study.
Section 2.1 deals in detail with the nature and features of these –ing formations. Section
2.2 traces their chronological development, while Section 2.3 analyzes the syntactic
behaviour of –ing nouns during the period under analysis. Finally, Section 2.4 contains a
brief summary.
2.1. The nature and characteristics of –ing nominals
The suffix –ing goes back to OE –ung (later –ing), used to form action nouns from verbal
bases back in OE. However, from the ME period onwards, this deverbal noun gradually
acquires verbal characteristics (Fanego 1996), sometimes making it difficult to tell apart
45

2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
its real status as verbal or nominal. Take, for example, this instance from Jespersen (1940
[1909] Vol. V: 110),
(28) 13. Sidney Arc. 1.93 let my not knowing you serve for the excuse
of my boldness.
Although the gerund knowing is used here with a possessive determiner, just like
nouns do, it is negated by the particle not, just as verbs are. In this study, the label gerund
will be used, following Fanego (1996: 97), to denote “any –ing form having, roughly, the
same distribution as nouns or noun phrases, and thus capable of functioning as subject
(…), object (…), predicative (…), appositive (…), or prepositional complement” (see also
Tajima 1985a, Houston 1989, among others). Along the same lines, Huddleston (2002a:
81) points out that “[a] gerund is traditionally understood as a word derived from a verb
base which functions as or like a noun”, as in (29a) and (29b) below:
(29) a. Destroying the files was a serious mistake
b. I regret destroying the files
c. The destruction of the files
The gerundive construction destroying the files in (29a) and (29b) can be easily
replaced by the NP in (29c), where destruction is clearly a noun, and the propositional
meaning of the sentences remains the same. This fact seems to indicate that the gerund
functions as a noun. Likewise, according to Jespersen (1940 [1909] Vol. V: 89), the
gerund shows the same characteristics as any other noun from a syntactic point of view:
1. it can be the subject, predicative, or object of a sentence, also the
regimen (“object”) of a preposition
2. it can form a plural
3. it can form a genitive
4. it can be used with a definite and indefinite article
5. it can take other adjuncts
6. it can have a subject and an object in the same way as other nexussubstantives
7. it can enter into compounds
46

2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
However, authors such as Declerck (1991: 494) argue against feature 2 proposed by
Jespersen. For Declerck, “gerund[s] cannot take nominal morphemes,” and they should be
distinguished from “ing-forms that are derived from verb stems and that can take the
nominal plural morpheme such as building(s) and cutting(s)” (1991: 494, footnote 2).
According to this view, the latter are deverbal nouns which do not share any of the
syntactic characteristics of the gerund and should therefore be considered true nouns, not
gerund forms.
It must be noted that in most working definitions of the gerund that have been used
up to this point, and as Huddleston (2002a: 82) points out, authors
have used the formulation “as or like” in talking of the functional
resemblance between a gerund and a noun, leaving open the issue of
whether the word is verb or noun. Dictionaries tend to define the gerund
as a verbal noun, but there are strong grounds for analyzing [a gerund]
as a verb.
This controversy is the result of the gerund’s gradual acquisition of the following
verbal syntactic qualities (Jespersen 1940 [1909]. Vol. V: 89-90):
1. ability to accept adverbs freely
2. ability to form a perfect
3. ability to form a passive, also a perfect passive
4. ability to take an object without the preposition of
5. ability to take a subject without a preposition
6. ability to be preceded by there as “lesser subject”
Fanego (1996: 98) adds the following verbal properties to those mentioned above: “it
became capable of governing a predicative complement (…), it could be negated by the
V[erb]P[hrase]-negating particle not (…) and it could take a subject in a case other than
the genitive.”
47

2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
Thus, as Huddleston (2002b: 1188) indicates, “the syntactic use of this form [i.e. the
gerund] was greatly extended, so that it came to combine not just with dependents of the
kind associated with nouns (…), but also with those associated with verbs.” At this point,
it seems that the idea of taking the gerund just as a verbal noun is in need of revision.
Take, for instance, the following examples from Huddleston (2002a: 81):
(30) a. He was expelled for killing the birds [form of verb]
b. She had witnessed the killing of the birds [gerundial noun]
c. He was expelled from wantonly killing the birds
d. She had witnessed the wanton killing of the birds
e. *The killing the birds
Although the –ing forms in (30a) and (30b) may seem identical at first sight, on closer
inspection one realizes that their nature is clearly different. By applying the grammatical
tests (Huddleston 2002a: 82) related to the formal properties of nouns and verbs discussed
above, the intrinsic differences between killing in (30a) and (30b) become evident. In
(30a), it is modified by an NP, exactly as verbs are, whereas in (30b), killing is modified
by a prepositional phrase (henceforth PP), in the same manner as nouns. Furthermore, in
(30a) an adverb is required for the modification of the –ing form, giving (30c) as a result,
while the counterpart for (30b) contains an adjective modifier, as shown in (30d). This
points to the verbal nature of killing in (30a) and to its nominal nature in (30b).
Furthermore, if attention is paid to determiners, killing in (30a) does not allow the use
of an article, as shown in (30e), while in (30b) the killing of the birds is perfectly
grammatical. This piece of evidence points in the same direction as the previous tests. As
a final test for the distinction between instances (30a) and (30b), Huddleston (2002a: 82)
uses the inflection for the plural. In the case of (30a) the plural inflection is not allowed,
while in (30b) it would be perfectly grammatical (e.g. The killings of the birds). In
addition, the gerund can behave as a verb and as a nominal at the same time (cf. [31]
48

2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
below). The is an adnominal whereas by introduces the agent of the action expressed by
the verb.
(31) This painting represents the killing of Caesar by Brutus
(Declerck 1991: 495)
In the light of these facts, most linguists (Houston 1989; Huddleston 2002a, b, among
others) concede the existence of two kinds of gerund: one nominal, the other verbal. In
what follows, I outline the complex historical process accounting for these facts of PDE
grammar.
2.2. Chronological development of the English gerund
That the English verbal noun in –ing has acquired the syntactic characteristics of verbs
over time is well known. However, the exact date of emergence of the verbal gerund is
controversial and has given rise to an abundant literature on the topic. It has commonly
been held that the emergence of the gerund took place during the ME period (Rusteberg
1874; Mossé 1957; Mustanoja 1960). Thus, Mustanoja (1960: 394) affirms that “[t]he
evidence so far collected strongly suggests that the rise of the English gerund takes place
essentially within the ME period. It is during this period that the verbal rection of the
noun in –ing is finally established.” The abundant examples given by Visser in his
Historical Syntax of the English Language (1963-1973, Vol. II §§ 1020 ff) give support to
this view.
Other authors, however, disagree with the previous date of emergence of the verbal
features of the gerund. Emonds (1973), for instance, though not denying the rise of the
gerund in ME, doubts whether it was completely established at that time. To back up his
statement, he uses Chaucer’s The Parson’s Tale, in which all the –ing forms found are
49

2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
nominal (as demonstrated by their adjectival modification and the preposition governing
their objects) or “neutral,” in the sense that there is no syntactic evidence in either
direction. Nevertheless, Emonds’ study is based on just one brief text and its results must
be taken with caution. In turn, Tajima (1985b), after having comprehensively analyzed
Chaucer’s works, concludes that the gerund, although infrequent, was present in
Chaucer’s language. Similarly, Donner (1986) demonstrates the use of the verbal gerund
in ME from an analysis of the quotations in the Middle English Dictionary. It seems that
the gerund with verbal characteristics was mainly used to match Latin gerunds in the
translation of Chauliac’s Cyrurgie, dating from the first quarter of the 15 th century, and by
Reginald Peacock (c. 1395–c. 1461) as a way to make English suitable for philosophical
discourse and extending its reach, both lexically and syntactically. However, as Donner
(1986: 400) puts it:
the gerund can hardly be said to have become established during the
Middle English period. No writer except Peacock uses gerunds
regularly, normally, and naturally as part of his syntactic repertoire.
Where they do occur, if not occasioned by Latin or French gerunds,
they look rather more like solecisms than signs of a developing
syntactic innovation. The true development is to be sought among later
writers.
To sum up, although the development of the (verbal) gerund was not fully completed
during ME, it can be considered to have come into use during that period.
2.3. The structural instability of –ing nominals during the EModE period
As has just been mentioned, the (verbal) gerund first becomes available during the ME
period, but only develops fully in later stages. In Fanego’s (1996) analysis of –ing forms
in the EModE sections of the The Helsinki Corpus, –ing nominals are shown to exhibit a
50

2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
high degree of structural instability, as the coexistence of the forms in (32a) to (32d)
illustrates:
(32) a. E2 1615 Markham Countrey Contentments 109: the maine point
belonging thereunto is the Hus-wiues cleanlinesse in the sweet
and neate keeping of the Dairy house,
b. E3 1689-1690 Evelyn Diary 927: The whole nation now
exceedingly alarm’d by the French fleete braving our Coast
even to the very Thames mouth:
c. E3 1671 Tillotson Scoffing at Religion 429: to adore that great
mystery of Divne Love (which the Angels, better and nobler
Creatures than we are, desire to pry into) God’s sending his
onely Son into the world to save sinners,
d. E3 1689-90 Evelyn Diary 897: the Bishops of Scotland [...] were
now coming about to the True Interest, more to save themselves
in this conjuncture, which threatned the abolishing the whole
Hierarchy in that Kingdome, than for Conscience: (Fanego
1996: 97)
In (32a) keeping is clearly a noun, showing the typical pre-head dependents of nouns,
such as determiners (the) and adjectives (sweet and neate), and a notional object surfacing
as an of-PP (of the daily house). By contrast, the –ing nominal in (32b), braving, shows
verbal syntax, since its object is an NP (our Coast). Finally, the –ing nominals in (32c)
and (32d) show a mixture of both nominal and verbal properties. On the one hand, their
notional objects are NPs (his onely Son and the whole Hierarchy, respectively), as in
(32b), but they take pre-head dependents typical of nouns such as Possessive Phrases
(hereafter PossPs) (God’s in [32c]) and determiners (the in [32d]). In view of these
characteristics, henceforth nominals of this kind are referred to as ‘mixed’ gerunds.
This hybridization is a result of the process of acquisition of verbal features by
–ing nominals that was described in the previous pages. As seen above, all –ing nominals
go back to abstract nouns, originally formed by the addition of the suffix –ing, which later
51

2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
acquired verbal features. In this process of verbalization of –ing nominals, the writing
style and their internal syntax played an important role. As for the writing style, Fanego’s
(1998: 104, 116) data indicate that the acquisition of verbal characteristics, such as the
verbalization of the object of the gerund, takes place at an earlier stage in the “more oral
and less formal genres,” which means that this change is a change from below in
Labovian terms (1994: 78). Syntactically speaking, the data provided by Fanego (1996:
132) suggests that verbalization took place earlier in gerunds having only post-head
dependents, as in (33a), which are strongly reminiscent of verbal syntax. Verbal gerunds
of this type are well represented already at the beginning of the EModE period (1500-
1570), and their process of verbalization was almost complete at the end of the period
(1640-1710). Interestingly, the verbalization process was manifested not only in the
realization as NPs of thenotional objects of gerunds, but also in properties such as the
ability to take predicatives, and to allow negative forms, passive forms, and combinations
of perfect and passive, as in (33b) below:
(33) a. E3 1688 Beim Oroonoko 161: she cou'd only sigh and weep
there, and think of Oroonoko; and oftentimes cou’d not forbear
speaking of Him,
b. E3 1688 Beim Oroonoko 161: He was troubled, for having been
forc'd, by an irresistible passion, to rob his son of a treasure, he
knew, cou'd not but be extremely dear to him; (Fanego 1996:
108, 132)
On the contrary, –ing nominals having both pre- and post-head dependents acquire
verbal features considerably later. The diffusion of direct objects from gerunds with only
post-head dependents to gerunds with both pre- and post-head dependents brought about
the emergence of hybrid structures of the kind shown in (34a) to (34f), henceforth
referred to here as POSS-ing and mixed gerunds properly speaking (MIX). In POSS-ing
constructions, the otherwise verbal –ing nominalizations have as their pre-head
52

2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
depentents a PossP or possessive pronoun. Consider, for instance, (34a) and (34b). Both
–ing nominals exhibit nominal features such as possessive determiners (his, my) as prehead
dependents, or premodification by adjectives (e.g. easy in [34b]). However, they
also show verbal features such as NP objects (Nelthorp and them, respectively). On the
other hand, in MIX constructions, the –ing nominalizations combine verbal properties
with nominal properties other than having a possessive determiner or a PossP as pre-head
dependent (cf. [34c] to [34f]). Thus, though they all govern NPs as post-head dependents
(the minister, children, this Waterdog, and any such Door or House, respectively), they
still retain nominal properties such as the presence of definite articles and adjectives
(brave in [34e]) as their pre-head dependents.
(34) a. E3 1685 Lisle Trial IV, 122C2: I never knew of Nelthorp’s
coming, nor any thing of his being Nelthorp;
b. E3 1666-1667 Pepys Diary 416: And among other things, I to
my chamber and there to ticket a good part of my books, in
order to the Numbring of them -for my easy finding them to
read, as I have occasion.
c. E2 1599-1601 Hoby Diary 72: I went to church and, from
thence returninge, I praised God both for the inableinge the
minister so profettably to declare the word as he had (...)
d. E3 1673 Taylor The Marriage Ring 13: but of all these the
noblest End is the multiplying children,
e. E3 1676 Walton Compleat Angler 211: and I can tell you there
is brave hunting this Waterdog in Cornwall,
f. E3 1698 Statutes VIII 458: Provided alwaies That in case upon
such breaking open any such Door or House no such Private
or concealed Back Still or other Vessell (...) shall be found
(Fanego 1996: 133-134)
Fanego shows that, although very rarely, nominals with only post-head dependents can
also show hybridization. Thus, having in (35) below governs an of-PP (of eights), but is
also postmodified by an adverb (unnecessarily), a typically verbal property.
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2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
(35) E3 1666-1667 Pepys Diary VII, 414: he commends the song, not
knowing the words, but says the ayre is good, and believes the
words are plainly expressed. He is of my mind, against having of
eighths unnecessarily in composition. (Fanego 1996: 134)
According to Fanego (1996: 134), mixed gerunds become common by the second
half of the 17 th century, when they represent half of all –ing nominalizations having both
pre- and post-head dependents. In an important article (2004b), Fanego further shows that
mixed gerunds were used at that time preferably in syntactic slots not governed by
prepositions, namely, as subjects, objects and predicatives (2004b: 330-331), as in these
syntactic positions fully verbal gerunds took much longer to become acceptable.
The development just discussed of –ing nominals having both pre- and post-head
dependents provides a good example of extension, defined by Harris and Campbell
(1995: 51, 97-119) as a mechanism “which results in changes in the surface manifestation
of a pattern and which does not involve immediate or intrinsic modification of underlying
structure” (Harris and Campbell 1995: 51). Extension brings about changes in the syntax
of a language by generalizing a rule; in the case under discussion, the rule in question
could be formulated as follows (from Fanego 1998: 108):
(36) In the surface configuration [Prep] V-ing XP the unmarked
realization of the object argument of a gerund is NP.
Harris and Campbell recognize (1995: 115-117) that very often the former rule
and the rule which has been extended coexist for a while. This is exactly what happens
during the EModE period, when nominal, verbal and mixed gerunds coexist. In other
words, the oldern, medieval pattern [Prep] V-ing of-phrase coexists with the innovative
pattern [Prep] V-ing XP, this being gradually extended to all functional slots (subject,
object, predicative) and to all kinds of gerundive patterns, whether containing pre-head
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2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
dependents (e.g. by his writing it) or not . As a result of this process, as repeatedly noted,
EModE –ing nominals exhibit a much greater degree of hybridization and structural
instability than their PDE counterparts (see also van der Wurff 1993, 1997a, b).
2.4. Summary
This chapter has shown that PDE gerunds have their origin in –ing abstract nouns, which
over time underwent a process of verbalization that started already in ME and was almost
completed during the EModE period. However, this process was far from being uniform.
As Fanego (1998) has shown, verbalization took place first in –ing formations in the most
oral and less formal styles of writing and in those nominalizations having only post-head
dependents (e.g. by writing the book). Through a process of extension, the verbal features
acquired by –ing formations with only post-head dependents were later adopted by –ing
nominals having both pre- and post-head dependents (e.g. by his writing the book). This
development led to the frequent use of mixed formations that coexisted in the language
with fully nominal and fully verbal –ing nominalizations.
Since this dissertation intends to offer a comprehensive analysis of
nominalizations in the EModE period, the necessity of taking into account all types of
–ing formations, whether nominal, verbal or mixed, existing at the time is evident. They
will therefore be duly considered in the remainder of this corpus-based study.
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
3.1. Introduction
The intuition in a study on nominalizations is that nouns share some of the semantic
properties of their base verbs (Alexiadou 2001: 8). What is clear is that, as can be seen
below, the items that co-occur with nominalizations are closely related to the range of
items that co-occur with their base verbs. Grimshaw (1990: 46-47) proposes that the only
restriction is the impossibility for nominalizations to take bare NPs as their complements.
a. CP complement
(37) a. The physicists claimed that the earth is round.
b. The physicists’ claim that the earth is round
b. Infinitival complementation
(38) a. They attempted to leave.
b. Their attempt to leave
c. Locative PP complement
(39) a. The train arrived at the station.
b. The train’s arrival at the station
No doubt this statement holds for derived nominalizations proper. However, as explained
in Chapter 1, my definition of nominalization is wider than Grimshaw’s, and includes
verbal gerunds as (40), which do allow NP complements.
(40) John’s criticizing the book
This chapter intends to provide a detailed account of the main views on nominal
complementation and argument structure, paying special attention to the kind of
dependents that can appear with nominalizations. The intention is to compare what has
been said in the previous literature on the topic with the results obtained later in the corpus
study. But before going deeper into the analysis, it must be noted that, despite the common
assumption about the possibility of comparing the arguments in nominalizations with those
57

3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
of their corresponding base verbs, in the nominalizing process a reduction of arguments, in
Mackenzie’s (1985: 32) sense, usually takes place. Therefore,
[n]ominalizations are not structurally parallel to their non-nominalized
counterparts. The difference resides in the fact that the terms associated
with a nominalized verbal predicate are much more likely not to be
expressed than is the case with non-nominalized verbal predicates.
Nominalization, then, is typically associated with a reduction in actual
valency by which I mean the number of arguments that receive overt
expression.
This idea is endorsed by Koptjevskaja-Tamm (1993: 12) when she points out that “some of
the possible syntactic arguments of a certain verb are not expressed or even cannot be
expressed in the corresponding ANCs [Action Nominal Constructions], even if they should
obligatorily be present in combination with finite verbs.” This may be the reason why
nominalizations and verbs differ in two main respects. Whereas the subject is obligatory in
a clause, the notional subject in an NP is optional. The same goes for arguments. While
verbs take arguments obligatorily, nouns take them just optionally. Consider, for instance,
the examples below from Grimshaw (1990: 47, 118-119):
(41) a. *The doctor examined.
b. The doctor’s examination (of the patient) was successful.
c. *They attempted.
d. Their attempt (to reach the top) was successful.
e. The situation entertained the children.
f. The entertainment of the children
After considering the sequences above, one may reach the conclusion that verbs
require arguments, while nouns do not, as proposed by Anderson (1983), Higginbotham
(1983) and Dowty (1989). Nevertheless, this distinction is not so clear-cut, as noted by
authors such as Vendler (1968), Zubizarreta (1987) and Grimshaw (1990), who consider
nouns a heterogeneous class and try to establish a classification of deverbal nouns
according to their argument-taking capacities. Thus, Grimshaw (1990) differentiates
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
between nouns showing argument-taking capacities like verbs, which she calls complex
event nominals or action nouns, such as examination in (42a) below, nouns having no
argument structure, which are simple events nominals, as event, race, trip or exam in
(42b), and result nominals, such as exam in (42c) (see also Alexiadou 2001).
(42) a. The instructor’s examination of the papers took a long time.
b. The event/race/trip/exam took a long time/took place at 6:00
P.M.
c. The exam was on the table.
Grimshaw develops a theory of argument structure that tries to bring order to this apparent
chaos in nominal complementation. Thus, according to her:
Complex event nominals and corresponding simple event and result
nominals have related lexical conceptual structures or lexical meanings,
but only complex event nominals have an event structure and syntactic
argument structure like verbs. The argument structure of complex event
nominals licenses (and indeed requires) arguments. Complex event
nominals are distinguished from the others in the range of determiners
and adjuncts they occur with as well as in event control and predication.
(Grimshaw 1990: 59)
However, when facing real data, the boundaries are not so clear-cut, and even Grimshaw
herself (1990: 49) concedes that there are nouns such as examination that may have an
eventive or resultative reading depending on the context. For instance, if we say The
examination was on the table, the noun examination has a resultative reading, whereas the
sentence The examination of the patients took a long time has an eventive reading (cf.
Grimshaw 1990: 49). That is one of the reasons why authors such as Sleeman and Brito
(2010) consider Grimshaw’s division too strict, arguing that the difference between
process and result nouns is just of an aspectual nature.
Argument structure as well as the different dependents that nominalizations can
take are analyzed in depth in what follows.
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
3.2. Argument structure of nominals
We can start the discussion with Culicover’s (1997: 17) definition of argument structure as
“[t]he set of arguments selected by the verb, including the subject argument;” this of
course implies that the term is closely related to the category verb. Nevertheless, Culicover
concedes that nouns and adjectives also have argument structure. In the literature
(Zubizarreta 1987, Grimshaw 1990), it has generally been assumed that derived nominals
which denote an action or process share the argument structure of their base verbs. As
Zubizarreta (1987: 39) claims, “[t]his is a reasonable assumption to the extent that
predicate-argument structure represents the grammatically relevant aspects of lexical
meaning and that verbs and their derived nominals are very close (if not identical) in
meaning.” Of course, if nominals have an argument structure, they must satisfy it, as verbs
do. In other words, if a (complex event) nominal shows argument structure, its
complements must be obligatory as they are for verbs. By ‘obligatory’ is understood
“capable in principle of being obligatory but perhaps subject to lexical variation”
(Grimshaw 1990: 49).
In the case of complex event nominals (e.g. construction), they always have an
external argument known as Event argument (Ev), which is the most prominent one. All
the other arguments of this kind of nominal are internal (Grimshaw 1990: 66). Thus, the
verb observe has an argument structure of the kind V (x (y)), having x as its external
argument. The nominal suffix –ing has an argument structure in which Ev is external (i.e.
N (Ev)); when –ing is added to observe the result is the nominal observing, in which the
argument structures of the verb and of the affix are combined into a complex structure of
the kind N, (Ev (x (y))) (Grimshaw 1990: 66).
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
However, Grimshaw (1990: 65-66) qualifies her statement that only complex event
nominals have argument structure by saying that, in a sense, all nominals have argument
structure, as other kinds of nominal have an external referential argument (R), even though
they have no other argument. This argument differs from the “more familiar kind of
argument by the fact that it does not appear as a complement to the head, nor is it the
realization of a participant in the lexical conceptual structure 4 (lcs) of the word –there is no
sense in which R is the Theme, a Goal, or an Agent of a predicate” (Grimshaw 1990: 63).
In brief, the argument structure of result (e.g. exam) and simple event (e.g. event, race)
nominals cannot be equated with that of complex event nominals. Result and simple event
nominals have an argument structure composed by just their external argument (R).
However, complex event nominals, having an event structure like that of verbs, possess a
much more complex argument structure that must also satisfy the event structure of the
nominal.
Grimshaw’s view on argument structure is called into question by Picallo (1991),
who has shown that not only process nouns, but also result nouns may select arguments:
(43) a. La discussió de les dades va durar tot el dia. (event)
‘The discussion of the data lasted the whole day,’
b. La discussió de les dades es va publicar a la revista. (result)
“The discussion of the data was published in the journal.’
As opposed to Grimshaw’s lexicalist model, Alexiadou (2001) proposes a syntactic
model, within the framework of Distributed Morphology (see Marantz 1999), in which
word-formation takes place in syntax. In this approach, both result and event or process
4 The lexical conceptual structure of a verb or a noun is the “lexico-semantic representation (…) that
includes, among other things, the participants in the activities or states described by the verb” (Grimshaw
1990: 5).
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
nouns (i.e. complex event nouns) are capable of licensing arguments (Alexiadou 2001: 66),
although she concedes that it is only in the case of event nouns that these arguments are
obligatory. Following van Hout (1998) and Levin (1999), Alexiadou assumes that event
structure 5 plays an important role in the licensing of argument structure. She relies on
Levin’s (1999) proposal that verb-meanings have two components, namely one provided
by the event structure and one provided by the core meaning, that is, the part of meaning
idiosyncratic to a specific verb. This second component is the ‘constant,’ in Levin’s
terminology. The constants are integrated into the event structure templates in order to
yield the verb meanings. Alexiadou (2001: 67) equates constants with unspecified roots.
Hence, the semantics of the root can license an internal argument. In this sense, the
“presence of arguments is guaranteed independently of the eventive character of the
outcome of word-formation” (ibid.). However, it must be conceded that arguments in
process nominals such as (44a) below are always obligatory, whereas in result nominals
such as (44b), arguments are optional. Alexiadou (2001: 66) assumes that the obligatory
presence of arguments is determined by functional structure (voice and aspect), and only
process nominals include voice and aspect in their internal structure.
(44) a. the examination of the students at noon
b. an exam (Alexiadou 2001: 11)
Sleeman and Brito (2010) accept much of the theoretical model proposed by
Alexiadou. However, they criticize that Alexiadou sticks to the dichotomy event versus
result nominals proposed by Grimshaw (1990) despite the fact that it is not clear-cut. Thus,
Sleeman and Brito (2010: 121) list five factors that illustrate the fuzzy boundaries between
event and result nominals:
5 According to Grimshaw (1990: 26), the event structure “represents the aspectual analysis of the clause, and
determines such things as which adjuncts are admissible.” She proposes that each verb has an event structure
associated with it.
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
0. As happens with result nominals, event nominals may pluralize (cf. [45]) (see van
Hout 1991: 75 for Dutch; Brito and Oliveira 1997: 61 for Portuguese).
(45) Os jornalistas estavam a assistir a várias destruições de cidades,
quando chegaram as tropas.
“The journalists were watching several destructions of towns, when
the troops arrived” (Brito and Oliverira 1997: 61)
1. Event nominals may be preceded by an indefinite determiner (cf. [46]) (see Brito
and Oliveira 1997: 60 for Portuguese; Heyvaert 2000: 120, note 1, for English).
(46) Os jornalistas estavam a assistir a uma destruição da ponte,
cuando a bomba caiu.
“The journalists were watching a/one destruction of the bridge,
when the bomb fell” (Brito and Oliveira: 1997: 60)
2. Event nominals do not obligatorily take internal arguments (cf. [47]) (Zubizarreta
1987).
(47) a. L’arrivée eut lieu à minuit.
“The arrival took place at midnight”
b. The execution was filmed by the TV-stations.
3. Some event nominals can combine with an of-PP instead of a by-phrase (cf. [48]).
(48) Ik heb alle uitvoeringen van Youri Egorov van het Schumannprogramma
bijgewoond.
“I have attended all of Youri Egorov’s performances of the
Scumann program” (Van Hout 1991: 76)
4. Result nouns can take internal arguments, and finally, in certain circumstances
result nouns can combine with a by-phrase (cf. [49]).
(49) A análise do texto pelo aluno enriquecem o conhecimento dos
colegas.
“The analysis of the text by the student enlarged the knowledge of
the colleagues” (Brito and Oliveira 1997: 65)
Therefore, for Sleeman and Brito (2010: 127) the difference between process nouns and
result nouns is not an eventive one, but an aspectual one, and as a consequence, these two
classes of nouns can behave similarly with respect to the projection of their arguments, as
well as with respect to plurality and the choice of determiners.
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
3.3. Nominal dependents
There exists a wide variety of dependents that nominalizations can take. In the literature
they are usually classified into arguments, argument adjuncts, complements and modifiers,
attending to both syntactic and semantic criteria.
According to Grimshaw (1990: 112), the process of nominalization ‘suppresses’
the external argument of the base verb (usually the subject), which is the most prominent
on both the aspectual and thematic dimensions. Arguments as well as argument adjuncts
are licensed by a suppressed position in the argument structure (cf. Grimshaw 1990), but
they differ in that argument adjuncts do not satisfy argument structure in the way
arguments typically do. Grimshaw (1990) claims that the only nominals having argument
structure are complex event nominals, so this kind of nominal is the one capable of having
argument adjuncts. These adjuncts are possessives (e.g. their destruction of the city) and
by-phrases (e.g. Saskia’s picture by Rembrandt) (see sections 3.3.1.2 and 3.3.2.2 below).
On the other hand, complements and modifiers are not licensed by the argument
structure. As was clarified above, not all nominals require arguments. However, according
to Grimshaw (1990: 91-92), even non-argument-taking nominals are associated with some
satellite phrases. These phrases may be simply modifying the nominal or they may be
related to its lexico-semantic representation. Thus, when the phrase is predicated of the
nominal functioning as the head noun as in John’s dog, it will be considered a modifier,
and when this phrase is connected with the lexical meaning of the head as in John’s
murder, it will be considered a complement. The difference between complements and
adjuncts is that “they correspond directly to argument positions in the lcs [lexical
conceptual structure], even though they are not grammatical arguments regulated by a-
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
structure. Complements are found only with simple event nominals” (Grimshaw 1990: 92).
However, I will not go further into this distinction since it is not pertinent for the study. I
will therefore follow Fanego (1996) in simply considering that all the items appearing with
nominalizations are dependents, which will be divided into pre- and post-head dependents,
according to the place they occupy in the NP. Both will be analyzed in detail in what
follows.
3.3.1. Pre-head dependents
This section analyzes the main dependents preceding the nominal head. The items found in
this position can be determiners, possessives (not only pronouns but also genitive NPs),
adjectives, nouns and adverbs. A description of each of these categories is provided below.
3.3.1.1. Determiners
For Grimshaw (1990: 54), the difference between complex event nominals, i.e. action
nouns, and other nominals lies not only in their argument-taking properties but also in the
kind of determiners they can take. According to her, the indefinite article, the numeral one
and demonstratives like that can only appear with result nominals, while the definite
article the appears with all kinds of nominal, as shown in the examples below. Only the
result nominal in sentence (50a) can be preceded by the indefinite article, as happens with
singular count nouns. When the nominal is a complex event nominal, having argument
structure, as in sentences (50b) and (50c), the only determiner that can be used is the.
(50) a. They studied the/an/one/that assignment.
b. They observed the/*an/*one/*that assignment of the problem.
c. The assignment of that problem too early in the course always
causes problems.
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However, this distinction is sometimes fuzzy. Heyvaert (2000: 120, note 1)
considers that the indefinite article, the zero determiner and quantifiers such as no, some
and any, among others, can appear with action nominalizations (i.e. complex event
nominals).
(51) a. [T]he Ministry of Agriculture will allow burning of herbage
seeds, reeds, lavender (…)
b. There was no breaking of ranks with Cabinet colleagues.
This is not surprising because grammarians such and Payne and Huddleston (2002: 339)
state that “under restricted conditions, however, a can combine with a non-count singular,”
that is, with abstract or mass nouns, as nominalizations usually are (Langacker 1987b: 91;
Schachter 1976: 214). Take, for instance, (52) below.
(52) Jill has a good knowledge of Greek. (Payne and Huddleston 2002:
372)
In this particular case, the indefinite article has the effect of individuating a subamount of
knowledge, i.e., her knowledge of Greek (Quirk et al. 1985: 273). Furthermore, the
indefinite article may be used to refer to the members of a class “in toto,” thus having a
generic function, 6 as in (53) below. Quirk et al. (1985: 287) also mention another possible
situation when the indefinite article can occur with noncount nouns, namely when they are
premodified and/or postmodified, as in (54) below. It is usually the case that the greater the
amount of modification, the higher the acceptability of a/an. However, if the adjective is
omitted, the indefinite article must be omitted too (cf. [55] below).
6 However, it must be noted that the indefinite article tends to lose its generic function when it occupies a
nonsubject position. Therefore, whereas instance (a) refers to mystery plays as a genre, (b) refers to only one
play. Finally, (c) is likely to refer to a subset of mystery plays.
a. Nora has been studying the medieval mystery play.
b. Nora has been studying a medieval mystery play.
c. Nora has been studying medieval mystery plays. (Quirk et al. 1985: 281-282)
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(53) A bull terrier makes an excellent watchdog.
(54) She played the oboe with (a) charming sensitivity/ a sensitivity
that delighted the critics.
(55) She played the oboe with *a sensitivity/ sensitivity.
Therefore, it makes sense that if an abstract noun may be used with the indefinite article
under some particular circumstances, those nominalizations preceded by the indefinite
article a/an, in the circumstances mentioned above, may be considered action nouns
despite being used with the determiners in question.
3.3.1.2. Possessives
The use of possessives in nominalizations has been analyzed by authors such as
Zubizarreta (1987), Grimshaw (1990), or Chomsky (1970), among many others, with
respect to argument structure, and has also been discussed in general grammars such as
Quirk et al. (1985) and Huddleston and Pullum et al. (2002).
As previously mentioned, possessives are licensed by any 'suppressed' argument in the
argument structure. This suppressed argument is the external argument, which is usually
the subject of the verb. Thus, possessives correlate with the subject of the verb, although
they are not proper arguments (Grimshaw 1990: 134). Take, for instance, the verb
imprison and its nominalization imprisonment; their argument structure is again different:
imprison (x (y)) vs. imprisonment (x-ø (y)). In the nominal structure the agent has been
suppressed, and this licenses the possessive argument adjunct. A possible NP having this
structure would be (56) below:
(56) The government’s imprisonment of refugees (Grimshaw 1990:
134).
From a typological point of view, Koptjevskaja-Tamm (1993: 201-202) claims that
“English belongs to the group of V[erb]O[bject] languages, with predominant
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N[oun]G[enitive] order, which have a class of prenominal possessive forms.” The
possessive slot is usually occupied by possessive determiners, but in English possessive
phrases are also allowed. As is the case with most languages having possessive
determiners, English has two genitive positions within the NP, namely pre- and postnominal
genitive positions. The pre-nominal genitive position is very restrictive in the
class of words it contains: they can be the possessive determiners, also called possessive
modifiers (cf. Ihsane 2003) (e.g. my, his, her), the relativizer whose and genitive NPs (e.g.
Peter’s).
As noted by Ihsane (2003: 23), possessives are structurally parallel to clausal
subjects. Take, for instance, the examples in (57) below. The genitive NP the enemy’s in
(57b) and the possessive determiner their in (57c) correspond to the NP the enemy, which
is the subject of the sentence in (57a).
(57) a. The enemy destroyed the city.
b. The enemy’s destruction of the city
c. Their destruction of the city
Koptjevskaja-Tamm (1993: 201-202) proposes that there are at least two respects
in which these prenominal possessive forms are reminiscent of the subject of a clause.
First, the position they occupy in relation to the head is similar to the position that the
subject occupies in English. Furthermore, they have high referentiality, and in Keenan’s
(1976: 319) words, “‘Highly Referential’ NPs, e.g. personal pronouns, proper nouns, and
demonstratives can always occur as subjects.” However, it must be conceded that genitive,
or possessive, NPs can also correspond to objects at times, 7 as in (58) (Quirk et al. 1985:
321-322).
7 Quirk et al. (1985: 321-322) list a total of eight genitive meanings, namely, the possessive genitive (e.g. the
earth’s gravity/ the gravity of the earth); the subjective genitive (e.g. her parents’ consent/ the decline of
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(58) the boy’s release (cf. we released the boy)
In structures involving –ing nominals, the possessor invariably represents the
subject argument in contemporary use (Fanego 1998: 93). However, in earlier stages of
English it was possible for the possessive form preceding the gerund to correspond to its
object argument (see Jespersen 1940 [1909] V: §§9.2.2-4, Tajima 1985a: 42-45, Visser
1963-1973: §§1105-6), although Fanego’s 1998 influential article on argument-linking in
gerunds in EModE clarifies that possessive phrases with an objective reading, as in (59),
are marginal already in this period.
(59) [E2 1612 Coverte A True and Almost Incredible Report 15: The
naturall people of the Hand [. . .] seeme to bee louing and kind: for
they made signes to me and others, at our first coming, to beware of
our throats cutting: which then we tooke no heede or notice of,
(Fanego 1998: 93)
The restriction in contemporary English on the co-occurrence of objective genitives
with –ing forms reflects the rigidification of SVO order: the subject normally precedes and
the object follows the verb. In nominalizations, this arrangement has led to a preference for
objects surfacing as of-PPs (Fanego 1998: 94).
More restrictedly, PossPs may also function as peripheral adverbials of time rather
than as arguments of the gerund, as the following examples (Fanego 1998: 91) show:
(60) a. I begin to be weary; yesterdays hunting hangs still upon me
b. A hole miles ryding
c. A hundred and twenty houres breeding (Fanego 1998: 91)
Possessives can appear with all kinds of nominalization. However, there seems to
be a restriction on the use of possessives with nominals deriving from psychological verbs.
Consider the following instances (Grimshaw 1990: 135):
trade); the objective genitive (e.g. the boy’s release/ a statement of the facts); the genitive of origin (e.g. the
girl’s story/ the wines of France); the descriptive genitive (e.g. a doctor’s degree/ the degree of doctor); the
genitive of measure (e.g. ten days’ absence/ an absence of ten days); the genitive of attribute (e.g. the party’s
policy/ the policy of the party); and the partitive genitive (e.g. the earth’s surface/ the surface of the earth).
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(61) a. John humiliated/embarrassed the audience.
b. The joke humiliated/embarrassed the audience.
c. John’s humiliation/embarrassment of the audience.
d. *The joke’s humiliation/embarrassment of the audience.
According to Grimshaw (1990: 138) the ungrammaticality of (61d) is explained in terms of
argument structure. In other words, the possessive is only allowed if the nominal has an
agentive reading. However, in (61d) there is no agent, as joke functions as the Theme. This
is the reason why the NP is ungrammatical.
With respect to the function of possessives in the structure of NPs, the most
common functions attributed to them are those of determiners, subjects and subjectoids.
Biber et al. (1999: 270-271) think of possessives as determiners of the NP since they
“specify a noun phrase by relating it to the speaker/writer (my, our), the addressee (your)
or other entities mentioned in the text or given in the speech situation (his, her, its, their).”
In other words, they “make noun phrases definite.”
Payne and Huddleston (2002: 472) refer to possessives as subject-determiner
genitives, and argue that they combine the syntactic functions of determiner and subject.
On the one hand, they are mutually exclusive with the basic determiners. On the other, as
already noted, these genitives bear many structural and semantic resemblances with the
subject in a sentence. For instance, the genitive precedes the head in the NP as the subject
precedes the head in the sentence. Furthermore, the range of semantic relations between
the genitive and the head in the NP is parallel to the semantic relations found between the
subject and the predicate in a sentence (see Payne and Huddleston 2002: 472-474).
More recently, De Smet (2010: 1168) has pointed out that previous analyzes of the
possessive as a determiner or as a subject are problematic. If possessives are analyzed as
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determiners, they only fit in “a highly defective and nonobligatory determiner slot, which
certainly stands out as exceptional.” Such a defective determiner slot implies that there is
no other nominalized clause which occurs with determiners in English; that the supposed
determiner cannot be followed by an oblique subject because it is already interpreted as
correferential with the subject of the –ing nominalization; and that the possessives
preceding the gerund cannot be used elliptically, as true possessive determiners do (see
also Pullum 1991). That is the reason for the ungrammaticality of (62b).
(62) a. I was amazed at Stacy’s eagerness, and at Morgan’s too.
b. *I was amazed at Stacy’s being so eager, and at Morgan’s too.
As for the subject analysis, De Smet also finds structural problems. Possessive
subjects appear only exceptionally. Furthermore, they cannot be coordinated with oblique
subjects, which indicates their nonequivalence. As a final argument, De Smet states that
possessives cannot fall in the scope of focal adverbials within the gerund clause, as oblique
pronouns do (cf. [63] below).
(63) The chance of him [/*his] in particular being hit by a meteorite
remains constant.
Taking into account the previous evidence, De Smet concludes that the possessive
of the gerund is best referred to as a “subjectoid,” as in Pullum’s (1991) terminology. He
also proposes that, since subjectoids are unique to –ing-clauses, they form a distinctive
feature of gerunds as a category.
3.3.1.3. Adjectives
Adjectives are the prototypical pre-head dependents in NPs (see Jucker 1992: 60; Biber
and Clark 2002). Payne and Huddleston (2002: 441) point out the close relation between
adjectives and adverbs when they propose that adjectives are typically modifiers in the NP,
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just as adverbs typically correspond to adjuncts in the clause. Therefore, it is not surprising
that adverbial adjuncts in a sentence become adjectives when the process of
nominalization takes place. Take, for instance, the examples below, where the adverb
frequently in (64a) becomes an adjective (frequent) in the NP in (64b).
(64) a. Mary frequently criticized John.
b. The frequent criticism of John (Haegeman and Guéron 1999:
417).
Adjectives usually function as modifiers in an NP, although they can also function
as complements of a noun, as in (65) below (Payne and Huddleston 2002: 439). As
happens with general nouns, adjectives in nominalizations can also be complements or
modifiers. Take, for instance, the examples in (66) and (67) below, taken from Grimshaw
(1990: 98).
(65) an ecological expert (i.e. an expert in ecology)
(66) a. The (man’s) gruesome murder
b. The (man’s) murder was gruesome.
c. *The murder was the man’s.
(67) a. The unsuccessful (Central American) invasion
b. The (Central American) invasion was unsuccessful.
c. *The invasion was Central American.
It is clear that the adjectives gruesome and unsuccessful in examples (66a) and (67a) above
are to be considered modifiers since they can be related to the head across a copula (see
instances [66b] and [67b]). However, the possessive phrase in (66a) and the group
adjective in (67a) cannot be considered modifiers but rather complements, since their
relation with the nominal across a copula is impossible, giving as a result the
ungrammatical sentences (66c) and (67c).
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3.3.1.4. Nouns
Although adjectives are the preferred type of premodification in English, Biber et al.
(1999: 589) point out that, in PDE, nouns are nearly as important as adjectives in
premodifying position, accounting for 30% and 40% of all premodifiers in academic
writing and news, respectively. However, earlier stages of the language offer a different
picture. Raumolin-Brunberg (1991: 199-200), in her study on NPs in the early 16 th century,
points out that the preferred type of premodifer, i.e. the attributive adjective, is up to ten
times higher than nouns in modifying position. When nouns are used, they are usually
appositive titles or epithets denoting rank, social status or profession (e.g. king, master and
doctor) and the head-words of the NPs are almost invariably human proper nouns.
However, her data is only based on Thomas More’s writings, so differences with academic
writing may well be expected. Biber and Clark (2002: 53), in their analysis of medical
prose, find out that the use of noun-noun sequences is quite infrequent over the 17 th , 18 th
and 19 th centuries. While premodifying nouns used as titles are rare in all periods, the use
of nouns modifying a common noun has increased dramatically, especially over the last 50
years.
As is the case with adjectives, pre-head noun dependents can be of two kinds:
complements and modifiers. Payne and Huddleston (2002: 439-443) give a series of
syntactic and semantic criteria in order to distinguish between these two classes. Pastor-
Gómez (2011: 47) proposes that complements form an “unbreakable combination” with
the head noun (cf. [68a]), whereas modifiers, or adjuncts as she calls them, combine with
the head noun freely (cf. [68b]). This means that the relation between complements and
their head nouns is tighter than in the case of modifiers.
(68) a. a linguistics student
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
b. an Oxford student
As Fanego (1998) shows, from EModE pre-head noun dependents functioning as
the subject argument of a gerund (see [69] below) can also be found. Occasionally, we also
come accross nouns functioning as pre-head dependents which correspond to the semantic
object of the verbal gerund (cf. [69]). They were not very frequent in EModE due to the
fixation of (S)VO in all kinds of clauses (Fanego 1998: 94). However, they were relatively
frequent in ME, when the OV order was still common (see Tajima 1985a: 45-60, Visser
1963-1973: §§1108ff).
(69) no Exceptions were to be taken to them, but only for their upright
Honesties, notwithstanding the Attorney prompting Sergeant Dier
(Fanego 1998: 91)
(70) (...) and herein you shall finde that an inch straightning, or an inch
inlarging, will adde or abate at least halfe a foote in his full and
direct stroake. (Fanego 1998: 94)
3.3.1.5. Adverbs and adverbial phrases
Pullum and Huddleston (2002a: 563) point out that the defining feature of adverbs is that
they “characteristically modify verbs and other categories except nouns, especially
adjectives and adverbs.” However, locative and temporal adverbials in post-head position
can also modify nouns, both in PDE (see [71a] and [71b]) and in previous stages of the
language ([71c]; see Jack 1988: 56; Fanego 1996: 109).
(71) a. the shop on the corner
b. circumstances today
c. his tenantʒ there
Apart from locative and temporal adverbials, Alexiadou and Grimshaw (2008) also
concede that complex event nominals can contain some adverbs, though only in post-head
position as well (see [72a] and [72b] below).
(72) a. The arrival of the trains promptly at the station...
b. His careful destruction of the documents immediately....
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In addition, as made clear in Chapter 1, the present study also examines verbal
gerunds, and naturally one of their defining characteristics is that they can be modified by
adverbs and adverbial adjuncts like any other VP (Jespersen 1940 [1909] Vol. V: 89-90,
Fanego 1996: 98).
(73) a. my quietly leaving
b. *my quietly voice (Fanego 1996: 108-109)
Once the reasons for including adverbs in the analysis have been clarified, some
remarks on the category adverb are in order. Huddleston (2002c: 57-58) refers to adverbs
as “the least homogeneous of the traditional parts of speech.” This statement is better
understood if we take into account the multiple contexts in which adverbs can be used, and
the huge range of categories they can modify, namely verbs (cf. [74a] below), adjectives
(cf. [74b]), adverbs (cf. [74c]) and NPs (cf. [74d]).
(74) a. She [almost died].
b. An [almost inaudible] response
c. He spoke [almost inaudibly].
d. They ate [almost the whole pie] (Huddleston 2002c: 57).
It must also be taken into account that not all adverbs can modify heads belonging
to all these categories, which makes the picture even more heterogeneous. In the chapter
on “Adjectives and adverbs,” Pullum and Huddleston (2002a: 562-565) try to delimit the
category ‘adverb,’ emphasizing its heterogeneity at the same time. They concede that
almost is the most “versatile” adverb, since it can occur with verbs, adjectives, adverbs and
NPs (as exemplified above), but also with determiners (cf. [75a]) and PPs (cf. [75b]).
(75) a. [Almost all] the candidates failed.
b. They are [almost without equal].
On the other hand, there are adverbs, such as very or too, that, despite modifying
adjectives, adverbs and a few PPs, are far removed from the prototypical adverb due to
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their inability to modify verbs. Other adverbs such as moreover or nevertheless modify
clauses, but they are unable to modify verbs or adjectives. Finally, adverbs such as only or
even can combine with content clauses and non-idiomatic PPs, as in (76a) and (76b)
below. To make the picture even more complicated, there exist adverbs that are
homonymous with adjectives, and pairs in which the difference in meaning is very little or
null (see [77] and [78] below).
(76) a. I regret [only that I couldn’t do more to help].
b. They open [even on Christmas Day].
(77) a. She’s a hard worker.
b. She works hard.
(78) a. The wrong decision
b. He guessed wrong.
c. He acted wrongly (Pullum and Huddleston 2002a: 567-568).
3.3.2. Post-head dependents
The most common dependents of nominalizations in post-head position are PPs, especially
of-PPs and by-phrases, and to a lesser extent other PPs, as well as NPs and sentential
complements. They are analyzed in further detail in what follows.
3.3.2.1. Of-PPs
As pointed out by Koptjevskaja-Tamm (1993) (see also Section 3.3.1.2 above), English is
a rare example of a language which has two formally distinct genitives (PossPs and of-
PPs) occupying two different ‘genitive’ positions within an NP. As a consequence, the
agent and the patient are marked differently. Although there is some overlapping between
the PossP and the of-PP (the Saxon genitive and the of-genitive in Kopjevskaja-Tamm’s
terminology), they do not have exactly identical functions. Quirk et al. (1985: 321) discuss
these at length. With general nouns, in many cases both forms are acceptable because of
their similarity in meaning. Take, for instance, examples (79a) and (79b) below.
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
(79) a. What is the ship’s name?
b. What is the name of the ship?
However, in other cases, only one of the two constructions is appropriate. The choice is
determined by a number of well-known structural and semantic constraints discussed in
Quirk et al. (1985: 321-326). They show, for instance, that the PossP is favoured for
classes which are “highest on the gender scale,” that is, nouns referring to human beings
and animals and collective nouns with personal gender characteristics. Along these lines,
in his monograph on the analysis of genitive and of-constructions in 17 th century English,
Altenberg (1982: 117-120; see also Quirk et al. 1972: 198; Fanego 1998: 96) found that
the surface realization of the possessor nominal was closely connected with its degree of
animateness. More specifically, the PossP was preferred only with human individual nouns
(66%). In all other cases of-PPs were preferred, most dramatically with collective and
inanimate nouns (Altenberg 1982: 124).
Other factors influencing the choice between PossPs and of-PPs are the principles
of end-focus and end-weight (Quirk et al. 1985: 323; Taylor 1994a, b). These principles
favour that more complex and communicatively important units are placed towards the end
of the NP. As a result, when the PossP is used, the head noun is focused, while the of-PP
gives focus to the prepositional complement. Take, for instance, (80a) and (80b) below:
(80) a. The explosion damaged the ship’s funnel. [funnel in focus]
b. Having looked at all the funnels, she considered that the most
handsome was the funnel of the Orion. [the Orion in focus]
(Quirk et al. 1985: 323).
Taylor (1994a, b) concerns himself with the above mentioned tendency for
[+ HUMAN] possessors to surface as PossPs, and proposes that it can be understood as “a
question of topic-focus alignment” (Taylor 1994b: 218): “The more topical a possessor
nominal, the more likely it is to appear in prenominal position, while less topical
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
possessors tend to appear postnominally.” Furthermore, Taylor (1994b: 220) distinguishes
between discourse conditioned and inherent topicality. The former is a function of context
and depends largely on a nominal’s ‘givenness,’ i.e. the previous mention of its referent,
whereas the latter is intimately related with what Deane (1992: 188) calls “entrenchment;”
that is, “the pattern by which familiar concepts gain in activation more readily than
unfamiliar concepts.” According to Deane (1992: 194-195), there are three main factors
that contribute to entrenchment, namely, the position of a concept in memory, time of
acquisition and egocentricity. According to this view, concepts referring to the speaker and
his immediate environment, or early acquired concepts, which are usually egocentric and
basic level, 8 such as the notions of the self and of other humans, things associated with the
here and now, and physical objects that are clearly individuated tend to be more
entrenched. As Taylor (1994b: 220) notes, the factors that contribute to entrenchment also
conspire to render certain concepts more inherently topical than others. The most topical
are the speaker and other participants in a speech situation, other named individuals, and
indeed human beings in general. On the contrary, nominals denoting entities that are nonanimate
are lowest in inherent topicality.
In his 1987 article on English possessives and topicality, Deane already uses these
factors in order to explain the differences in usage of PossPs and of-PPs. He (1987: 66)
concedes that animacy plays a role in the selection. Therefore, animate and pronominal
possessors usually occur as prenominal possessive whereas inanimate possessors usually
occupy a postnominal position as an of-PP (see also Fanego 1998: 97). As the reasons for
8 Basic objects are defined by Rosch et al. (1976: 415) as “those that are the most differentiable and, thus, the
generally most useful distinctions to make in the world. With respect to sensory-motor development, basic
objects should be the first categories learned by means of visual perception and sensory motor interaction
with the object. With respect to image-ability, basic objects are the most inclusive categories for which an
image can be formed.”
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this tendency, Deane (1987: 67, 71-72) uses the Silverstein hierarchy and the notions of
focus and topic. As Deane (1987: 67) explains, the Silverstein hierarchy ranks NPs taking
into account their lexical content. Context-dependent forms such as first, second and third
person pronouns, proper names and other indexical elements are situated at the top of the
hierarchy. Just below, there appear NPs which denote salient referents (i.e. humans, nonhuman
animates and concrete inanimate objects). Finally, those NPs denoting relatively
undelimited or abstract entities are placed at the bottom of the hierarchy. He proposes that
the Silverstein hierarchy can be useful to predict the acceptability of prenominal and
postnominal possessives in English. The higher the possessor NP on the Silverstein
hierarchy, the more acceptable it will be as prenominal possessive, and the less acceptable
as postnominal possessive. Conversely, the lower an NP is on the Silverstein hierarchy, the
more acceptable it will be as postnominal possessive, and the less acceptable as
prenominal possessive. Furthermore, Deane (1987: 71-72) also directs his attention to the
function of the English possessive in the discourse, especifically to the concepts of topic
and focus. He defines topic as “what the discourse is about.” It usually appears in subject
position, and it is central but backgrounded in discourse. Focus is then understood as “the
information about the topic.” It generally occurs later in the sentence and is foregrounded
because it represents new information. In general, prenominal possessives (i.e. PossPs)
occur in constructions where the possessor is topical, whereas postnominal possessives
(i.e. of-PPs) are preferred in constructions where the possessed noun is topical.
According to Altenberg (1982: Chapter 6), the form of the genitive is also crucially
determined by the style of the text, and, in particular, by the stylistic category of “status.”
This term covers “a whole range of factors related to contacts between people from
different positions on a social scale –factors intuitively associated with such notions as
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3. NOMINAL COMPLEMENTATION AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURE
formality, informality, respect, politeness, deference, intimacy, kinship relations, business
relations and hierarchic relations in general” (Crystal and Davy 1969: 74). Fanego (1998:
98) points out that the low frequency of PossPs functioning as pre-head dependents of
nominalizations can be directly related to the impersonal, objective style that characterizes
scientific writings, both now (Biber and Finegan 1997) and in EModE (Gotti 1996: 27-28).
In the specific case of nominalizations, the functions of PossPs and of-PPs seem to
be clearly differentiated. Koptjevskaja-Tamm (1993: 202) claims that when
nominalizations have a transitive base verb and both genitives are present, the PossP
always corresponds to the subject whereas the of-PP corresponds to the object. However,
when only one of them appears, there might be some misunderstanding since both can
have the same interpretation. Haegeman and Guéron (1999: 412-413) try to exemplify this
ambiguity with the instances below:
(81) a. The enemy’s destruction
b. The city’s destruction
c. The destruction of the enemy
d. The destruction of the city
In (81a), the NP the enemy may be the agent or the patient of the action. In (81b) the city
may denote the agent or, though less probably, the patient. However, in (81c) the enemy
can only be understood as the patient of destruction. Again, in (81d) the city denotes the
patient of the action. Similarly, in (82a), Rembrandt can be the agent or the patient of the
action of painting, as happens with Saskia in (82b). However, both Rembrand and Saskia
in (82c) and (82d) must be interpreted as the patients of the respective actions.
(82) a. Rembrandt’s painting
b. Saskia’s painting
c. The painting of Rembrand
d. The painting of Saskia
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Historically, Fries (1940: 206) shows that the relative frequency of what he calls
the ‘periphrastic’ genitive (of-PP) in genitive expressions dramatically increased (from
6.3% to 84.5%) between the years 1200 to 1300. Raumolin-Brunberg (1991), in turn,
speaks of a heavy reliance on of-PPs in sixteenth-century English. This statement is
confirmed by Biber and Clark’s (2002: 59) analysis which shows that PPs are common
over the history of English, although they are particularly frequent in PDE. As for medical
English, of-PPs are the overwhelmingly dominant type of nominal postmodifier in the 18 th
century. Not surprisingly, Biber and Clark (2002: 46) note that PPs are the most common
type of postmodification, reaching up to 80% of all kinds of postmodifiers in news and
academic prose.
Raumolin-Brunberg (1991: 263-264) puts forward a number of structural reasons
favouring the use of the of-PP type in the 16 th century. The first reason is when the head
noun has more than one determiner/modifier of its own, as in (83) below. The second
reason is to avoid the use of several PossPs in a row. Moreover, Raumolin-Brunberg points
out that, in general, of-PPs are found to a greater extent than PossPs in long NPs occurring
clause finally, due to end-weight and end-focus. See, for instance, (84) below in Raumolin-
Brunberg (1991: 264):
(83) (…)/ was there in the sight// of many worshypfull people so
greuously tourmented/ (…) (Heresies 93:22)
(84) (…), in that the Lord Dacres so little estemede the minde and
opinion// of the Kingis sister// werof he had by his seruant so
parfait knowledge. (Lettoff 117: 30)
In addition, her data show that half of the NPs with of-PPs and one third with
genitives are nominalizations. It is usually the case that human complements are almost
always subjects, yet the normal tendency of placing subjects before the head and objects
after it does not always hold at the language stage examined by Raumolin-Brunberg:
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subjects can be found on both sides (see [85a] and [85b]), and there is even one instance of
an objective PossP (see [86]).
(85) a. (…) I wolde vpon the Kynges gracious licence or rather…
(Lettpri 200:77)
b. (…) as well all the remenaunt as the mayden her selfe in the
presence// of all the company… (Heresies 93: 28)
(86) The brother hath bene the brothers bane. (History1 41: 26)
Altenberg (1982: 125) points out that, in the 17 th century, the selection between
PossPs and of-PPs is a matter of stylistic preference. Thus, whereas PossPs are the
preferred option in non-religious prose, they are avoided in religious texts.
3.3.2.2. By-phrases
As in the case of clauses with two-argument or transitive verbs, arguments in an NP can be
reorganized by a process analogous to passivization (Haegeman and Guéron 1999: 414).
(87a) below illustrates an active clause whereas (87b) is its passive counterpart. In turn,
(87c) and (87d) represent the nominalizations of (87a) and (87b), respectively. In (87c),
the external argument of the NP, i.e. the subject, is realized by the PossP Rembrandt’s,
whereas the internal argument, the patient, is realized by the of-PP of Saskia. Instance
(87d) is an example of a NP in which the internal argument of the noun is realized by the
PossP Saskia’s functioning as pre-head dependent, while the external argument is realized
by a by-phrase, namely by Rembrandt. As happens in passive sentences (cf. [87e] below),
the external argument in the passivized nominal projection is not obligatory (cf. [87f]):
(87) a. Rembrandt painted Saskia.
b. Saskia was painted by Rembrand.
c. Rembrandt’s picture of Saskia
d. Saskia’s picture by Rembrandt
e. Saskia has been painted very often.
f. Saskia’s picture hangs on the wall.
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Despite the similarities, there exist important differences between the passivization
in clauses and in NPs. One of these is that for many speakers the understood external
argument in a passivized nominal construction cannot easily be understood as the
controller of the subject of a rationale clause. 9 This contrast is illustrated in (88a) and (88b)
below:
(88) a. The city was destroyed in order to prove a point.
b. *? The city’s destruction in order to prove a point
Furthermore, there are cases when the by-phrase is allowed in a passive sentence,
but is ungrammatical in the corresponding NP. For instance, sentence (89b) below is the
passive counterpart of (89a). Here, the by-phrase by everyone is allowed whereas the
insertion of the by-phrase in (89c), the nominalization corresponding to sentence (89b),
yields an ungrammatical sequence.
(89) a. Everybody hated the boss.
b. The boss was hated by everyone.
c. *The hatred of the boss by everyone
Grimshaw (1990: 141) tries to explain this by referring to the differences in argument
structure between nouns and verbs. She maintains that, as in the case of possessives (cf.
Section 3.3.1.2 above), by-phrases are licensed by a suppressed position in argument
structure, which differs from passive verbs to nominals. While in passive verbs, the
suppressed argument corresponds to the most prominent argument of the verb, whereas in
nominals it corresponds to an external element (Ev in event nominals) which is added in
the process of nominalization (Grimshaw 1990: 141; see also Section 3.2). Thus, the
external argument of the base verb which is suppressed in the process of nominalization,
9 Rationale constructions or “in order to” clauses “encode the rationale or reason, the goal to be
accomplished, that results from the action/event encoded in the matrix clause. The second or complement
event is to be a result of the first or matrix event; the second event serves as a motivation or rationale for
doing the first event” as in, for instance, John bought Mary a book in order to please her (Cutrer 1993: 177).
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becomes internalized, and therefore does no longer coincide with the external argument. In
other words, the argument structure of a passive verb would be (x-ø (y)), while the
argument structure of the corresponding nominal would be (Ev (x-ø (y))) (Grimshaw 1990:
141). Hence, while in passives the by-phrase is licensed by the external argument (which
coincides with the suppressed argument), in nominals the by-phrase cannot be determined
by the external argument, since this has not been suppressed. This implies that by-phrases
occur freely in passives, but are thematically restricted in nominals.
3.3.2.3. Other PPs
In addition to of, complements of certain nominalizations can be introduced by
prepositions such as at, for, from, on, to and with, which are grammatically selected by the
relevant nouns (see Pullum and Huddleston 2002b: 654-661). By way of illustration,
consider the examples below.
(90) a. Her attempt at a compromise
b. Consideration for others
c. Protection from the sun’s rays
d. An improvement on his first attempt
e. A hindrance to progress
f. Comparison with the first verb
3.3.2.4. NPs
It is usually the case that nouns cannot have other nouns as their post-head dependents. For
this reason, the object argument in nominalizations is usually an of-PP (cf. [91a]) (see
Section 3.3.2.1 above). However, as a consequence of the process of verbalization of –ing
nominals that started in ME, verbal gerunds can govern object NPs as in (91b) below (see
Chapter 2 for further details).
(91) a. She had witnessed the breaking of the seal.
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b. There is no point in breaking the seal. (Huddleston 2002b: 1187-
1188)
3.3.2.5. Sentential complements
Sentential complements can complement nouns as well as verbs. Grimshaw (1990: 74)
considers that nouns complemented by sentential complements are never complex event
nominals, but result or simple event nominals.
Sentential complements are always optional for the nouns with which they occur,
while they are compulsory with their base verbs; compare (92a) vs. (92b) (Grimshaw
1990: 74-76):
(92) a. The announcement/conclusion (that an investigation has been
initiated) was inaccurate.
b. *They announced/*They concluded.
Thus, it seems that sentential complements are not regulated by argument structure. This
may explain the impossibility for complex event nominals to take sentential complements,
as they are the only type of nominal having argument structure like verbs (see Grimshaw
1990).
In the case of nominals such as the one in (93a) below, one must assume that it is not a
complex event nominal but a result nominal, the complement specifying the content of the
announcement. Therefore, it does not allow the adjuncts proper of complex event
nominals, as shown in (93b). When these nominals pluralize, they require the content of all
nominals to be specified, as in (93c), where the content of both announcements was stated.
(93) a. The/Their announcement that the position had been filled was a
surprise.
b. *Their frequent/constant announcement that they were the
greatest eventually became tiresome.
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c. The announcements that the problem was solved (and that no
issues remained) were greeted with skepticism.
Grimshaw (1990) concludes that sentential complements cannot be considered as
arguments belonging to the argument structure of a complex event nominal because nouns
“never theta-mark directly but only by prepositions” (1990: 6). These prepositions can be
added to NPs, as in (94) below, but not to sentential complements, which are considered as
optional complements licensed by the lexical semantic structure.
(94) The announcement by her mother < Her mother announced…
3.4. Concluding remarks
This chapter has summarized the main views on nominal complementation and argument
structure in nominalizations and has provided a detailed account of the main dependents
that can combine with these formations.
As we have seen, these dependents play a role similar to that of arguments in
sentences, but it cannot be claimed that nominalizations have an exactly parallel structure
to their non-nominalized counterparts. The reason for this is that the number of arguments
appearing in nominalizations is remarkably lower than in their sentential counterparts, the
process of nominalization usually implying a valency reduction.
Most of the information provided in this chapter has been taken from theoreticallyoriented
works, and only in very few cases has diachronic data been provided. It seems,
therefore, that a corpus study is required in order to analyze the main dependents of
nominalizations in the EModE period with a view to identifying the preferred patterns of
usage in Early Modern scientific English.
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4. RHETORIC AND THE WORLD OF SCIENCE IN THE EModE PERIOD
As stated in the introduction to this dissertation, it is generally agreed that
nominalizations are a characteristic feature of scientific writing. This may be taken as an
indication that nominalizations have flourished in this genre and have been later adopted
by other genres. Bazerman (1988: 6) supports this idea, since “the statements made
through scientific discourse have been culturally and socially important. (…) [A]s a result
of science’s great success, habits of scientific discourse have influenced almost all areas
of intellectual inquiry.” In order to explain the reasons that might have fostered the use of
nominalizations in scientific writing, it may be useful to consider the persuasive or
rhetorical nature of scientific language.
Pahta and Taavitsainen (2011: 1-2), referring specifically to medical writing, point
out that “a contextualized analysis of medical language requires an understanding of the
contemporary history of medicine as an area of special knowledge and practice.” Since
the aim of this study is the analysis of nominalizations in Early Modern scientific English,
a general picture of the status of science at that time is in order. Therefore, this chapter
intends to give an account of the field of science in EModE and of the linguistic situation
during this 200-year period. Section 4.1 addresses the rhetoric of science, emphasizing its
persuasive nature and the factors that have an impact on the use of nominalizations.
Section 4.2 analyzes the changes that took place in the field of science during the socalled
“scientific revolution.” Section 4.3, in turn, deals with the process of
vernacularization, analyzing its potential influence on the use of nominalizations. Section
4.4 summarizes the consequences of the increase in literacy in science, while Section 4.5
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focuses on medical writing and its subgenres to serve as a background to Section 6.3,
which analyzes the differences in the use of nominalizations in the various subgenres of
scientific writing. Finally, section 4.6 offers a summary of the contents of the chapter.
4.1. The rhetoric of science
It has sometimes been stated that scientific texts cannot be regarded as rhetorical objects
because they depict reality from an objective point of view. However, as Gross (1990: 5)
puts it, scientific texts are rhetorical objects since they show an aesthetic dimension,
inasmuch as they are used as a means of persuasion to other scientists.
It must be noted that the body of texts classified under the label “scientific writing” is
related to quite different areas of knowledge such as, for instance, medicine, geology and
mathematics, so it cannot be considered as a homogeneous or stationary genre (Halliday
and Martin 1993: 54). However, there are some general features that distinguish scientific
writing from other genres. In Bazerman’s words (1988: 6),
[scientific language] has the reputation of simply reporting natural fact
that transcends symbolic trappings. Scientific writing is often treated
apart from other forms of writing, as a special code privileged through
its reliance in mathematics.
In natural language, which is primarily used to communicate the ideas and emotions
of the speakers, the subject position is occupied mainly by human beings, that is, the
speakers themselves or their fellow creatures. However, science focuses on physical
objects. The importance given to them is shown by the fact that, in scientific English, they
occupy the subject position. As Gross notes (1990: 70), “science invests such objects with
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the importance ordinarily bestowed on human beings: we are the clausal center of our
world; physical objects are at the clausal center of the world of science.”
In general terms, scientific texts are usually hard to read. If they are compared to
other genres, the first striking difference is the amount of technical vocabulary they
include. This may seem the reason why people not mastering this specific terminology
have problems when facing scientific writing. It is obvious that some of the concepts are
far removed from everyday words, and they pose a problem for understanding. However,
as Halliday and Martin (1993: 71; see also Biber and Gray 2011) state, in the case of
science, “[t]he difficulty lies more with the grammar than with the vocabulary. (…) The
problems with technical terminology usually arise not from the technical terms
themselves but from the complex relationships they have with one another.”
Out of the seven difficulties which characterize scientific English, as discussed by
Halliday and Martin (1993: 71 and ff.), only three will be examined here, since they are
closely related to nominalizations, the object of analysis of this study. They are lexical
density, syntactic ambiguity and grammatical metaphor; the other difficulties mentioned
by Halliday and Martin are interlocking definitions, technical taxonomies, special
expressions and semantic discontinuity.
Lexical density refers to the number of content words in a text. In spoken English,
the density of lexical items is usually low, whereas in planned, written English, as is the
case of scientific English, this density increases (cf. Albentosa-Hernández and Moya-
Guijarro 2001: 446; see also Ventola 1996: 153). As Biber and Gray (2011: 55-56) argue,
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the structural elaboration of academic writing is mainly realized as phrases without verbs.
In this genre, the lexical items in a clause are generally grouped in one or two NPs.
Sentences are long because NPs usually contain PPs and extra nouns and adjectives as
premodifiers of the head noun. Take, for instance, (95a) and (95b) from Halliday and
Martin (1993: 76). Lexical words are more frequent in (95b), which is an example taken
from Scientific American (December, 1987), than in (95a), which is taken from spoken
discourse. Example (95a) is easier to understand by the addressee because of the lexical
items used and because of its grammatical structure.
(95) a. But we never did anything very much in science at our school.
b. The conical space rendering of cosmic strings’ gravitational
properties applies only to straight strings.
However, in their main clause syntax, sentences from academic writing are generally
very simple. This is why Biber and Gray (2011: 47) conclude that “academic discourse is
actually much more compressed than elaborated.”
Syntactic ambiguity is closely related, precisely, with compression and lexical
density. In scientific texts, clauses are usually turned into NPs, with consequent increase
in the lexical density of the clause. Thus, for instance, the NP cosmic strings’
gravitational properties in (95b) above is replaceable in context by clauses such as those
in (96a) and (96b), which reflect the semantic information that has been lost in the
process of nominalization.
(96) a. Cosmic strings have gravitational properties.
b. Cosmic strings show gravitational properties.
A final feature to be mentioned in connection with the rhetoric of science is that, as
mentioned in Section 1.3.5, grammatical metaphor is the “substitution of one grammatical
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class, or one grammatical structure, by another” (Halliday and Martin 1993: 79). The
English language usually codifies processes by means of verbs, participants in the action
by nouns, circumstances by adverbs or PPs, and the relations between processes are
codified by means of conjunctions. However, when a clause is turned into an NP, the
previous code is no longer valid. Thus, the NP in (96b) above refers to an action. The
same action could be reworded as in (97), following the usual codification mentioned
above.
(97) The conical space renders gravitational properties to the cosmic
strings.
As scientific writing reports mainly actions (the experiments carried out in a laboratory),
grammatical metaphor becomes a useful resource for scientific language. It enables the
writer to talk about the relation between two different processes in just one clause, the
two processes being expressed by two NPs, one at the beginning and the other at the end
of the clause, and related by a verb, which acts as a nexus indicating the relation between
the two NPs (see Section 4.1.1 below for further details).
4.1.1. The rhetorical use of nominalizations
Scientists must face the problem of telling about their findings making them appear as
concrete facts. Since these findings are usually the result of experiments carried privately
in a laboratory, 17 th century scientists thought that not only the results but also the
procedures of these experiments should be explained to all literate people. This explains
the appearance of the experimental essay, a descriptive form that gives an account of the
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whole deductive process, reporting the experiments, procedures and results obtained
(Gotti 2003: 225).
As Halliday and Martin (1993: 81) put it, the kind of language used in science should
proceed step by step, with a constant movement from “this is what we
have established so far” to “this is what follows from it next”; and each
of these two parts, both the “taken for granted” part and the new
information, had to be presented in a way that would make its status in
the argument clear.
Similarly, Vande Kopple (1994: 550) recognizes this “step by step” description of
actions in writing science, and describes the way information is distributed in clauses and
sentences as follows:
What the scientists do is to take information about steps in their
experimental procedure that they apparently do not consider worthy of
expressing in a separate sentence or clause and encapsulate that
information in nominalizations that they include within the subjects of
their sentences.
It is thus at this point when nominalizations appear as a useful rhetorical device. As
Halliday and Martin (1993: 39) point out, “nominalization opens up a vast potential for
distributing and redistributing information in the clause.” Similarly, Martin (1992: 490)
considers grammatical metaphor as “the key to understanding text in context – to
contextualizing the ineffable.” By the process of nominalization, verbs referring to
processes become nouns. This means that a complex phenomenon is packaged into just
one element of the clause, in this case, an NP which can be increasingly more complex
depending on the amount of pre- and post-modifiers attached to it. As Varantola (1984: 1)
recognizes, “[n]oun phrases are a powerful syntactic device. (…) A noun phrase can
incorporate a great deal of information in a compact, synthesized form.” This packaging
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allows another NP to be placed at the end of the clause, being attached to the previous NP
by a verb acting as a kind of nexus. This syntactic distribution favours the “constant
movement” pointed out by Halliday and Martin (1993) in the quotation cited earlier.
Thus, a relation between processes is created. This relation may be either internal “b
causes me to think y” or external “a causes x to happen” (Halliday and Martin 1993: 61).
As a result of the nominalization of much of the lexical content, the verb loses its lexical
value, and often acts only as a mere copula. The resulting pattern is a clause with the
structure shown in (98) below.
(98) process 1 (NP) + relation (VP) + process 2 (NP/ PP)
Gerbert (1970, quoted from Gotti 2003: 80) suggests that this pattern is reminiscent
of mathematical equations, in which the copula acts as the = sign, and the two parts of the
equation, namely, the two NPs, are interchangeable. This pattern is rhetorically
significant since it favours the flow of information. In those cases when the subject is far
longer than its complement (cf. [99]), inversion allows the writer to match the principles
of end-weight and end-focus.
(99) More important is the solution of any priority problems that may
arise.
Another textual reason for the increasing preference for nominalizations is that they
serve as cohesive devices. In English, information is distributed according to the patterns
of Theme + Rheme and Given + New. The Theme is “the element that constitutes the
point of departure for the message” (Halliday and Martin 1993: 60). It is placed at the
beginning of the sentence, and it is given information, that is, known information. The
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rhetorical effect of the Theme is backgrounding. It refers to something that has been said
previously, giving cohesion to the text. This is illustrated in the following example taken
by Halliday and Martin (1993: 60-61) from Newton’s Treatise on Optiks (1704; written
1675-1687).
(100) a. (…) the light (…) that (…) emergeth continues ever after to be
white.
b. the Whiteness of the emerging Light
In (100a) Newton packages information about light using a whole sentence. Later in the
text, Newton packages the previous information into the NP in (100b), giving as a result
what Downing (1991: 121) calls “summary nouns.” This process of packaging enables
the writer to place given information at the beginning of the information unit, in subject
position, whereas the new information is placed at the end, usually in longer and more
complex structures. However, according to Albentosa-Hernández and Moya-Guijarro
(2001: 461-462), it is often the case that nominalization also breaks the rules of
communicative dynamism and the principle by which complex syntactic structures are
placed at the end of the sentence. This happens because “the pressure to be precise often
leads to length of and complexity within the noun phrases” (Vande Kopple 1994: 546),
even if they are in the subject position.
As previously said, scientific texts are rhetoric objects in the sense that they are
devised to convince fellow scientists that what they are saying is true. In this task,
nominalization plays an important role. As seen in Section 3.1 above, nominalization
usually implies a valency reduction which eliminates some of the participants in the
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action expressed by the verb. The reasons for this reduction are mainly three. First, they
can be inferred from the linguistic or extralinguistic context. Secondly, they are
considered to be irrelevant. Third, the speaker/writer is interested in omitting the
participants for some reason (Albentosa-Hernández and Moya-Guijarro 2001: 452-453).
By means of this reduction, “nominalization raises the representation of the situation to a
higher level of abstraction, objectifying, stratifying and depersonalizing the event”
(Downing 2000: 356). When a clause is nominalized, the distance between the event and
the speaker increases. As a result, it seems that the event expressed in the nominalization
represents “an acknowledged piece of information” (Maynard 1994: 243). In a similar
vein, Halliday and Martin (1993: 39) claim that “you can argue with a clause but you
can’t argue with a nominal group. It (…) is taken for granted (…); it cannot easily be
challenged.”
However, the potential of NPs for condensation of information is sometimes
controversial. The search for precision and concretion in academic writing sometimes
goes against clarity and plainness in the transmission of information (Albentosa-
Hernández and Moya-Guijarro 2001: 465). This is the reason why academic writing is
hard to understand for non-experts. It is true that this “nominal style” has been criticized
and referred to as a “noun disease” which is undesirable and should be avoided (cf.
Varantola 1984: 1). Jespersen (1924: 139) also satirized this nominal style when he stated
that “it now and then does nothing but disguise simple thought in the garb of profound
wisdom.” Nevertheless, Biber and Gray (2011: 60) support the use of nominalizations by
claiming that
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[t]here are good reasons why compressed, phrasal expressions are
preferred over elaborated clausal expressions in academic writing: they
are more economical; they allow for faster, more efficient reading; and
they are comprehensible to the expert reader despite the fact that some
explicit meaning is lost when fuller clauses are reduced to phrasal
structures.
To summarize, nominalizations are useful in scientific writing since they are a tool
for giving coherence to the text. Furthermore, they allow information that is usually
conveyed through a clause to be packed just in an NP. This process allows an NP to be
related to another NP or a PP, allowing the creation of a relation between processes that
enables the writer to explain the experimental processes. Furthermore, nominalization is a
perfect device to obtain the objectivity and impersonality required by academic writing.
Disadvantages such as the lack of clarity and loss of explicit meaning are avoided by the
expert reader’s knowledge on the topic.
4.1.2. Other factors favouring the use of nominalizations
The fact that the flourishing of nominalizations took place in the EModE period may be
explained by intra- as well as extralinguistic factors. As stated in Section 4.1.1 above,
nominalizations are useful for coherence. However, during the EModE period there were
also other factors that might have had an impact on the rise of nominalizations.
After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the linguistic situation in England was a
complex one. Besides minority Celtic languages spoken in western and northern areas,
there were three main languages, namely, Latin, French and English. Even these three
major languages were not at the same level as they were used in different registers. Latin
enjoyed a privileged position since it was used in public domains such as religion,
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administration and scholarship. It was also the preferred language for the writing of
science. As Latin, French was used in the public domain, but also in the private one, for
the communication among the French-speaking members of the community and
marginally used in the writing of science. English was the less prestigious language and
was confined to be used orally in the domestic domain (Taavitsainen and Pahta 2004: 9).
It was not until the 14 th and 15 th centuries when the increase of scientific texts in the
vernacular becomes noticeable. Although written in English, they were influenced by
Latin conventions (Taavitsainen and Pahta 2004: 1) as a consequence of the former
privileged position of Latin. However, writers who used English in their scientific
writings had to face some difficulties. The most evident was the lack of specialized
terminology. Up to that stage, English had been restricted to the private sphere and had
not required technical terms that were available in Latin or French. Thus, scientific
writers had to make the English language eloquent and suitable for the transmission of
scientific knowledge (see Section 4.3 below for further details).
In order to increase the vocabulary of a language, there are two main options. On the
one hand, one can use the resources offered by the language itself. Thus, word-formation
processes, such as affixation or compounding, create new words from items already
existing in the language. On the other hand, words can be directly borrowed from other
languages. In the case of English, nominalizations helped to cover the gap that existed in
the scientific vocabulary at that time. As already mentioned in Chapter 1, in this study the
term nominalization is used in a narrow sense, to designate a word-formation process
through which nouns are created by suffixation from verbal bases. During the EModE
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period, there were essentially three kinds of nominalizations according to their origin.
First, there were native nominalizations, created from native bases and suffixes, such as,
for instance, running or seeking. Secondly, there are hybrid 10 nominalizations involving
native bases and borrowed suffixes or vice versa; instances from my database are
measuring or crossing. Finally, a large amount of nominalizations are of foreign origin:
e.g. penetration or accomplishment. The use of nominalizations over time might have
been fostered by the fact that they show some lexical characteristics typical of specific
discourse, as proposed by Gotti (2003: 33 and ff.). The first is mono-referentiality. As
Gotti (2003: 33) defines it, “the term ‘mono-referentiality’ is not used (…) to indicate that
each term has only one referent, as words generally have several referents, but to signal
that in a given context only one meaning is allowed.” Nominalizations help to achieve
mono-referentiality in a language since they are new terms that help to define new
concepts avoiding ambiguity or misunderstandings that could appear if terms already
existing in a given language would be used to refer to these new realities.
Transparency is another lexical property typical of nominalizations. According to
Gotti (2003: 37), transparency is “the possibility to promptly access a term’s meaning
through its surface form.” Thus, the use of conventional affixes having a concrete value
(see Chapter 5 below) will help to classify terms according to the meanings usually
associated with each affix. Terms sharing the same affix are understood as belonging to
the same category or having similar properties not shared by other terms with a different
10 This term is used here in the sense of a word created by “the combination of prefixes/suffixes with bases
of different origin” (Dalton-Puffer 1996: 17); for instance, a word formed by a Germanic suffix attached to
a Scandinavian base.
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affix. Thus, when readers of a scientific text find a noun created from a verb and one of
the suffixes analyzed in this study, they will immediately understand that the noun refers
to the process or action of the base verb. Take, for instance, some nominalizations found
in the corpus analyzed. The meaning of nominalizations such as discovering can easily be
inferred since it is clear that it refers to the action of their base verb, discover. Even the
meaning of nominalizations such as apertion ‘opening’ (< aperīre ‘to open’), which are
opaque since their base is a Latin verb, can be somehow reconstructed. They can be
classified as action nouns. However, it must be noted that the fact that suffixes have
broadened their meanings over time can lead to polysemy. Thus, the nominal apertion
does not only refer to the action of the verb aperīre, but also to the result of that action
(see further Chapter 5 below).
Another factor favouring the use of nominalizations has to do with a preference for
conservatism in the EModE period. Scientists from the 17 th and 18 th centuries had to face
the problem of giving names to new realities and also renaming others that, up to that
time, had vague names that might lead to confusion or misunderstanding. In order to do
so, they usually borrowed from the classical languages to achieve greater monoreferentiality
for the new terms (Gotti 2003: 41). There was a preference for using words
from the classical languages, such as transpiration or vitrification, to avoid the lexis of
the general language.
In short, nominalization is a device that allows the naming of new ideas and
processes when there was a need for new specialized vocabulary. They have the property
of being transparent, since nominalizations are easily recognized as action nouns due to
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their method of formation. Furthermore, they are removed from everyday discourse,
restricting their use mainly to specialized contexts. It seems then that the properties of
nominalizations make them perfect candidates to fit in scientific discourse. However,
since science has changed over history, it is interesting to consider in greater depth how
science was understood during the EModE period. This will be done in what follows.
4.2. Science and the implications of the “scientific revolution”
During the EModE period, science ceased to be restricted to the knowledge contained in
texts written in Latin by scholars and passed down to their students in lectures had existed
as happened in the ME period (Eamon 1994: 93). Until 1600, there was a sharp
distinction between liberal and mechanical arts. The former were considered to be
suitable for educated men whereas the latter were only for lower-class people (Zilsel
1941: 26). Thus, medieval “intellectuals” were divided into scholars, humanists, and
artisans such as craftsmen and engineers. Scholars were academically trained, and
scholasticism and theology still prevailed at universities. However, the methods employed
by scholars would be far from being considered scientific nowadays because their
contempt for manual labour prevented them from experimenting. In other words, both
university scholars and humanists showed the social prejudices of the higher ranks of
society. They scorned uneducated members of society and used only Latin in their
writings. Craftsmen and engineers’ interests, on the other hand, were very different from
those of scholars and humanists. As they were concerned about causality and physical
laws, they made experiments and relied on quantitative methods to study them. However,
most of the craftsmen only had a practical education obtained from their masters in the
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workshops, so these experiments were usually unmethodical. Nevertheless, despite their
methodological lacks, authors such as Zilsel consider that the greatest achievements of
the Renaissance culture are owed to these artisans, not to scholars or humanists. For this
reason, superior craftsmen such as artists or surgeons are usually considered “the
immediate predecessors of science” (Zilsel 1942: 553). The general situation of science in
ME and the problems that needed to be overcome by science are perfectly summarized in
this quotation from Zilsel (1942: 544):
the two components of the scientific method were separated by a social
barrier: logical training was reserved for upper-class scholars;
experimentation, causal interest, and quantitative method were left to
more or less plebeian artisans. Science was born when, with the
progress of technology, the experimental method eventually overcame
the social prejudice against manual labor and was adopted by rationally
trained scholars.
This rebellion did not take place until the second half of the 16 th century, when scholars
rejected scholasticism and humanism. As a result of the technological inventions and
economic change detailed further below, scholars started to show an interest for nature
and physical experience, although they still rejected experimentation. Furthermore, this is
the time when superior craftsmen got in touch with scholars, and even started to write
diaries and articles where they noted down their experiments. These publications were
written in the vernacular and, although they were disregarded by scholars, their peercraftsmen
showed a great interest in them (Zilsel 1941: 28, 1942: 552, 554).
About 1550, the advances in technology enabled activities such as navigation or
mining, which had both technical and learned features, to become very important in
economical terms (Zilsel 1941: 28, 1942: 554). It was at this time when educated scholars
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such as Gilbert and later on Bacon understood the importance of the scientific experiment
and defended its use in front of their peers. When scholars adopted the methods of
superior craftsmen, the barrier between liberal and mechanical arts was broken, leading to
the birth of modern science.
Critical voices with ME science, such as, for instance, Bacon, considered that its
emphasis in theorizing was an obstacle for the development of science itself (Eamon
1994: 7). Therefore, Baconian sciences were different from the previous period in that,
first of all, the scientific community was no longer a small and homogeneous one, but a
community composed by scholars as well as amateurs and craftsmen (see Section 4.2.1
below). Thus, this new heterogeneous generation of scientists transformed the old
conception of science, bringing about new interests and disciplines, previously
disregarded by academic scientists. Furthermore, they were not so deeply influenced by
the established doctrines as scientists had been before. Since the new science was based
on factual information instead of theory, it could profit more from many ordinary
investigators than from a few genius (Eamon 1994: 319). Thus, science needed a
scientific community open to share all the discoveries and achievements with other
scientists; scientists should collaborate among themselves. Only by using previous
knowledge and by continuing along the lines of investigation carried out by previous
researchers, science could make progress (Zilsel 1942: 557). The field of medicine does
not remain impassive to these changes:
During this period, the scientific paradigm experienced a major
epistemological shift: medieval scholastic, logocentric science, relying
on knowledge derived from Galen, Hippocrates and other ancient
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writers, gave way to new ways of constructing knowledge, relying on
empirical methods and explanatory principles based on observation and
cognition (Pahta and Taavitsainen 2011: 3; see also Crombie 1994 and
Taavitsainen and Pahta 1995).
On account of all these changes in methodology and even in the conception of
science itself, some scholars consider this period to be a “scientific revolution” (Koyré
1990 [1966]: 1-2). However, more and more authors are rejecting the idea that what
happened at that time in science can be truly called a revolution (Mikkeli and Marttila
2010: 13). One of the authors most critical with this term is Shapin (1996), who denied
the existence of such a revolution in the very first line of his 1996 monograph on the topic
of “scientific revolutions.” He points out that research on science in the Early Modern
period has shown that it is dubious that there was a discipline that could be called
“science” as such, but only “a diverse array of cultural practices aimed at understanding,
explaining, and controlling the natural world, each with different characteristics and each
experiencing different modes of change” (Shapin 1996: 3-4). In short, there was no
universal scientific method. However, Shapin concedes that the fact that scientists such as
Galileo or Bacon, key figures from the time, expressed their feelings that they were doing
something totally new gives ground to those who insist on the revolutionary nature of the
period.
4.2.1. The Royal Society
This new conception of the importance of discussions among scientists mentioned in the
previous section gave rise to the foundation of the Royal Society of London in 1660
(Atkinson 1999: 15; 1661 according to some sources, see Eamon 1994). This society was
created as “an organization composed of open-minded, moderate men of diverse
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professions and social backgrounds, who would arrive at a philosophy of nature that
would satisfy all reasonable men” (Eamon 1994: 334).
The society was innovative for its time since it was considered the first public 11
institution devoted to scientific research. Unlike universities, it focused on experimental
research, being the milestone of modern science. However, it must be noted that this
“public” society was not much of the like since most of its members belonged to the
aristocracy and it was usually regarded as a “society of gentlemen.” This enthusiasm in
science shown by gentlemen was related to the fact that at the time they usually had
pastimes, and science was then considered to be such a pastime. The members of the
society met on a weekly basis, and a big emphasis was made on recording all these
meetings as well as reviewing the correspondence sent by scientists from Britain and
abroad. As a way to compile and make all this information available to a wide public,
there took place one of the most remarkable achievements of the Royal Society, namely,
the publication of the Philosophical Transactions in 1665. This scientific journal written
in the vernacular had a wide audience and was considered as one of the most important
scientific journals from the moment of its publication till the end of the 18 th century
(Atkinson 1999: 17; see also Gotti 2011).
In the accounts of the experiments by the Royal Society members, “everything
was to be reported faithfully, even false starts and failures, and imaginary objections were
to be taken into account” (Taavitsainen and Pahta 1995: 524). In this new style of writing,
11 Any individual interested in being a member of this society was allowed to join it, understanding
individual in 17 th century terms. Thus, people such as women, blacks, or men of dependent means were
excluded from this category (Atkinson 1999: 49, footnote 2).
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while explaining the process of experimentation, the author used the first person, as it was
a personal experience. However, in argumentation the author uses the first person plural
to include the readership and to try to obtain agreement.
4.2.2. The printing press
In this new network of scientists, the printing press played an important role, especially
for those writing in English (Eisenstein 1983: 185). Although the printing press had
already been introduced by Caxton in 1476 (Blake 2008 [1992]a: 7), it had an impact on
Early Modern scientific writing due to a combination of factors that are analyzed below.
However, it must be noted that the printing press was not very important for Latin-writing
scientists, who usually preferred their work to be contained in manuscripts instead of
books, since the number of readers able to understand them was very small.
In the particular case of medicine, Taavitsainen et al. (2011: 10) state that despite
the fact that the progress of medical printing was slower in England than in Continental
Europe, its influence on the circulation of medical ideas and information was profound.
This did not mean that printed books replaced “more primitive” methods of
communication. Rather, they were used in combination because some types of medical
texts better suited the handwritten production like, for instance, the compilations of
recipes from various sources, the notes taken by students on lectures or the aide-mémoire
of useful information and records of the treatment given to their patients compiled by
medical practitioners (Taavitsainen et al. 2011: 10). It was after 1550 when we witness a
remarkable increase in the number of medical books written in the vernacular.
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The works by Eisenstein (1983) and more recently Barton (1994) list the
advantages of the printing press in the development of science. First, printing supported
cultural diffusion since it made it possible to increase the number of copies of a particular
text, favouring the access of scientists to scientific texts. Thus, scientists could read and
compare many different texts, favouring the interchange of ideas. There was no way of
making “public and universal” new observations if they were recorded only in
manuscripts. Furthermore, scientists could spend more time solving their scientific
queries and making experiments as they no longer had to spend their time in timeconsuming
activities such as recording their data on manuscripts. Even the learned
community able to understand Latin could profit from printing since the publication of
their scientific texts could make it possible for other learned peers to check their work
and, in this way, obtain feedback from other qualified scholars.
Finally, another advantage of printing was that it was not as selective as scribal
tradition, so it was able to report advances in many fields of knowledge (Barton 1994:
124). Printing might be selective, however, in that it could spread and reinforce existing
ideas by repeating them in published texts.
In short, it seems that the printing press fostered communication among scientists.
It allowed them to have access to a great variety of texts, making it possible for scientists
to keep along the lines of previous research on a specific topic. Furthermore, the large
amount of copies of a particular text allowed many scientists to read it and give valuable
feedback to the author. All these aspects contributed enormously to scientific progress.
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4.3. The language of science
The EModE period was characterized by great changes, not only in the conception of
science and scientific methodology, but also from a linguistic perspective. This section
analyzes the changes in the language of science, from the dominance of Latin till the
eventual vernacularization of scientific writing.
4.3.1. The role of Latin
As already noted in Section 4.1.2, during the ME period Latin was the lingua franca of
learned culture. It was the language used to teach at universities and also the language in
which science was written. As Eamon (1994: 93) puts it,
Latin symbolized the barriers that divided learned from popular culture
in the Middle Ages. The textualization of science in Latin served among
other things to legitimize it, setting science apart from local, popular,
and oral traditions. Since in the Middle Ages “literacy” almost always
meant knowing how to read and write Latin, knowledge of the Latin
language became the norm that separated the scientific elite from the
rest of society.
Stock (1983: 27) points out that literacy was identified with rationality whereas
illiteracy was related to superstition and rustic simplicity. Thus, Latin was at the time the
barrier that kept apart learned from lay men as well as science from popular tradition.
Latin “drove a wedge between the rational, scientific culture of the educated elite and the
concrete, ‘phenomenal’ culture of the laymen, rustics, commoners, and ‘simple folk’ at
the bottom of the social scale” (Eamon 1994: 93-94).
Even though Latin was the lingua franca of science during the ME period, it must
be noted that the process of vernacularization had already started in the 14 th century,
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bringing with it the appearance of large numbers of manuscripts written in English as well
as the translation of classic scientific texts into the vernacular (Taavitsainen 2006: 689,
2001a; Eamon 1994: 94). Since Latin was the language of science for such a long period,
the style of the scientific works written in Latin was still a model for vernacular writings
(Taavitsainen 2002: 205) (see also Section 4.5.2.1 below).
In the EModE period, the conception of Latin changed. In close relation to the
new changes that took place in science (see Section 4.2 above), Baconians were against
the use of Latin in scientific texts because it was associated to antiquity and traditional
science (Jones 1953: 310). Therefore, the use of the vernacular was favoured as it was
regarded as a plain and simple medium of communication. However, there were two
considerations that prevented the total abandonment of Latin. The first was the
conception that Latin was more stable than the vernacular. The second was that scientists
at that time were concerned with finding an international medium of communication, and
Latin had already served this purpose. Thus, Latin continued to be used as a lingua franca
in science until the late 17 th century, and was used even after that period (Taavitsainen
2002: 205).
Early on, literacy in Latin was the only way to achieve knowledge, since it was
the language used in higher education. But Puritans believed in the possibility of the
vernacular carrying out this function. Thus, the main function of Latin vanished as there
was no point in spending time in such a time-consuming activity as learning a foreign
language for a purpose that could be fulfilled by the vernacular. Therefore, the use of the
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vernacular was fostered as it started to be considered as “the useful language” (Jones
1953: 293).
By 1600 most of the children acquired basic literacy by means of the parish
curate, but only some of them had the privilege of attending a grammar school to learn
Latin, and in some cases, also Greek. These children were taught the classics by rote
learning of the Latin language. However, as Salmon (1996: 14, 175) claims, at this stage
figures such as John Brinsley insisted on the importance of teaching also the vernacular to
the children. Many others followed his example, creating the first contrastive grammars
of English and Latin. The teaching of Latin to schoolboys was still considered to be
important because this language was the key to access a huge cultural heritage, much
more extensive and serious than that available in English. Furthermore, knowledge in
Latin facilitated the correct use of Latin borrowings, widely used at this period.
In short, although Latin had enjoyed a privileged position as the lingua franca of
science, during the EModE period it lost ground in favour of the vernacular, which was
increasingly used in prestigious registers.
4.3.2. The vernacularization of science
During ME, the vernacular was used in manuscripts together with Latin, to the extent that
we can say that the process of vernacularization has its origin already in the 14 th
century, 12 when medical writings at all levels were composed or translated into English.
The spread of literacy to all ranks of English society already in the 15 th century had,
12 Certain genres, such as recipes, handbooks with practical advice and charms, were written in the
vernacular even in OE times (Taavitsainen 2002: 204-205, 2006: 689).
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however, a considerable impact on the increased vernacularization of scientific writing
(Taavitsainen and Pahta 2004: 15). Although the majority of the English population could
read English, Latin was understood by educated people only. For this reason, scientists
started to use English in their writings already in the late ME period in order to reach a
wider readership. Furthermore, as already hinted at in the previous section, nationalistic
and patriotic writers worked for the enhancement of the status of the English language
(Taavitsainen 2006: 691; Jones 1953: 119).
4.3.2.1. Deficiencies in the vernacular
As the number of literate people increased, English came to be used in a wider variety of
registers; not only in public and private letters, but also in business documents, legal
proceedings and literary and scholarly writings (Russ 1982: 19). However, there was a
strong undercurrent against the use of English in the high registers during the 15 th and
16 th centuries. This was so because English was thought to be unsuitable for use in such
prestigious registers due to its deficiencies and inaccuracies (Gotti 2011: 206). Translators
and authors writing in English soon realized the problems that English writing could
cause since
[it] was subject to rapid change and decay; it lacked sufficiently
“copious” vocabulary; it did not allow the principles of classical
quantitative meter to be applied in the composition of “lofty” verse and
had few of the figures and ornaments available to writers in Latin and
Greek. (Russ 1982: 19)
That the English language was considered to be uneloquent was shown by the adjectives,
listed by Jones (1953: 7), that were often used to describe the vernacular, namely,
barbarous, gross, rude, base and vile. However, he notes that these adjectives did not
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have the same shade of meaning as nowadays. At that period, they only meant lack of
eloquence.
Both Jones (1953) and Gotti (2006) have written extensively on the English lack
of vocabulary to express all the new ideas appearing at such a prolific time as the
Renaissance. This lack of words was evident especially in the “names of art,” that is,
“technical terms that made up the basic lexis of a subject” (Gotti 2006: 657). Since in the
past all knowledge was written in Latin, it is not surprising that the vernacular lacked
specialized terminology. Furthermore, specialists also criticized the polysemy of many
English words that rendered the texts ambiguous. Therefore, obstacles such as
uneloquence, especially in technical writings, and polysemy that led to ambiguity needed
to be overcome in order to make the English language fit for any register.
4.3.2.2. English made eloquent
Once English was considered to be inadequate to express certain aspects of learning and
knowledge, it was improved by increasing the number of terms of art and also by
reducing the polysemy of words that led to ambiguity in texts (Gotti 2006: 675, 2011:
207). In order to achieve eloquence, two different strategies were followed. Specialists
could either borrow new terms from other languages, especially Latin, or use the
resources of the native tongue, creating a new word or adding a specialized meaning to a
word already existing in the English lexicon.
Gotti (2006) argues that borrowing from Latin was, by far, the most frequent
strategy. Thus, when a writer or a translator faced a word with no equivalent in the
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vernacular, this word was adopted into English, enriching the lexicon of the vernacular,
and leading to the status of the EModE period as “central to the growth of the modern
English lexicon” (Bailey 1978: xi). These borrowings were sometimes adopted into
English without making any change, for instance words such as diabetes, virus and
metacarpion. The most general practice, however, was the adaptation of the
morphological characteristics of the word to the vernacular. Therefore, sometimes the
foreign suffix was just dropped, but most of the times of the foreign suffix was replaced
by a native one. For instance, the Latin suffix –atio was replaced by the English –(at)ion,
and the French –ité was replaced by –ity (Gotti 2006: 676).
In spite of being the most frequent strategy to enrich the lexicon, borrowings were
opposed sometimes not only because they might be regarded as a “reproach to the
language” (Jones 1953: 76), but also because readers who were not familiar with Latin
would find them difficult to interpret, that is why they were usually referred to as
“inkhorn terms” or “hard words” (Gotti 2006: 676-677; Jones 1953: 96; Nevalainen 1999:
334, 361; Görlach 1991: 160-161). For this reason, authors borrowing terms from other
languages usually apologized for this practice, and tried to justify these borrowings and
clarify them by explaining the meaning of the loan words or providing a synonym when
they were first introduced in a text. Consider, for instance, the defence of the neologisms
modestie and mansuetude by Sir Thomas Elyot in his Of the knowledg which maketh a
wise man:
In euery of these thinges and their semblable/ is Modestie: which worde
nat beinge knowen in the englisshe tonge/ ne of al them which
vnderstode latin/ except they had radde good autours/they improprely
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named this vertue discretion. And nowe some men do as moche abuse
the worde modestie/ as the other dyd discretion. For if a man haue sadde
countenance at al times/ & yet not beinge meued with wrathe/ but
pacient / & of moche gentilnesse: they/ which wold be sene to be
lerned/ wil say that the man is of a great modestie. where they shulde
rather saye/ that he were of a great mansuetude: whiche terme beinge
semblably before this time vnknowen in our tonge/ may be by the
sufferaunce of wise men nowe receiued by custome: wherby the terme
shall be made familiare.
Especially from the 17 th century onwards, writers also compiled glossaries and
dictionaries of hard words where readers could check the exact meaning of these obscure
terms (Gotti 2006: 677-679), assuring readers that the strangeness of borrowings would
be overcome by the use and familiarity with these new terms. Apart from their obscurity,
many authors rejected borrowings because they were seen as rhetorical artifacts used to
show the vanity of the writer and to achieve eloquence (Jones 1953: 96). As a result,
inkhorn terms were heavily condemned because at that time a plain style was advocated
by many in order to be understood by all audiences.
Authors who disliked borrowing tried to enrich the English vocabulary by using
the resources of the English language. Some writers restored archaisms into the
vernacular, not to increase the vocabulary, but to benefit from their poetic force. This was
the so-called “revival movement” (Jones 1953: 119). Other authors tried to find terms
analogical to the foreign ones; to do so, some writers tried to render the technical terms
into English using strategies such as compounding and affixation, or by giving a new
sense to an already existing word. For instance, mooned was proposed instead of lunatic
and fleshstrings instead of muscles (Jones 1953: 121-123).
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In short, during the EModE period there existed several different strategies to
enrich the lexicon, some of them with little or no fortune such as the restoration of
archaisms or the use of terms analogical to foreign ones. These strategies could not
however compete against borrowing and, as will become apparent later on, affixation.
4.3.2.3. Opposition to the vernacular
The use of English as the language of science did not travel a paved way. The practice of
writing science in the vernacular had to face the opposition of classicists, who thought
that the use of the vernacular in the publication of books would go against the prestige of
universities and learned men. As Jones (1953: 47) points out, “the vested interests of
learning frowned upon any activity likely to disturb their privileges and honors.” This was
especially so in the field of medicine. Since physicians learnt from ancient books written
in Latin, the knowledge of this language was a requisite in their education, so they were
against any change that could make things easier for others. Medical treatises in English
could mean an increase in the number of practitioners, and also that any lay man could be
its own physician. Therefore, it seems that physicians in their opposition to the vernacular
were just defending their economic interests. However, they also feared that any person
being able to read English could practice medicine and thus, endanger many lives (Jones
1953: 50, footnote 53). Furthermore, as P. M. Jones (2011: 39) points out, some
practitioners and salesmen used medical literacy for their selfish ends, selling worthless
and even dangerous medicines just for their own profit. This situation became even worse
with the advertising of remedies and practitioners, and the circulation of remedies in
recipe form in print. Nevertheless, this was not enough reason for writers not to use the
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vernacular in their medical writings; those who did so insisted on the fact that “public
good transcends private gain” and also pointed out that ancient physicians used their
mother tongue in their writings (Jones 1953: 50; Bennett 1970: 140). Furthermore, those
in favour of using English in academic writing posed the argument that the worth of a
language was somehow measured by the amount of knowledge written in it. In this sense,
the more original English writings and translations into the vernacular, the more valuable
as a language English would become (Jones 1953: 51).
To summarize, the process of vernacularization of science could not be stopped
despite the opposition of some of the learned ranks of society, who were moved mostly
by selfish reasons.
4.4. Literacy in the EModE period
In order to understand the situation of science in the EModE period, it is also essential to
clarify who were the recipients of that knowledge. Thus, this section deals with the topic
of literacy and tries to clarify key concepts such as “audience,” “readership” and
“discourse community.”
4.4.1. The spread of literacy
The degree of literacy in the EModE period is an issue of great debate among historians
(Marttila 2011: 138). As P. M. Jones (2011: 30) has claimed, it is impossible to measure
literacy statistically, since the ability to read leaves no traces for historians to measure.
This is the reason why writing, or more specifically the ability to sign, is sometimes used
as a measure. Using signing as a measure, results are that in EModE times 70% of adult
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English men were illiterate, illiterate women reaching 90%. P. M. Jones adds that there
are significant variations in these percentages if one takes into account both social
position and geographical variation. However, this method of measuring literacy is not
exempt from problems. Reading was taught before writing, so it might very well be the
case that some readers could not write but yet could read. Other authors such as Salmon
(1996: 11) offer a quite different picture. She states that the EModE period was the span
of time when literacy in England ceased to be a privilege of the elite and spread to most
of the population. The causes of this spread are varied and are discussed in what follows.
As already pointed out in Section 4.3.1, Puritans played an important role in the
process of literacy in England. Their ethic encouraged personal and material success, and
literacy was considered to be fundamental in order to achieve it (Salmon 1996: 11). The
people who most profited from this trend were the middle and low classes since, unlike
aristocracy and upper classes, they could not have afforded the payment of school fees
(Bennett 1970: 82). At that time, the level of literacy of many tradesmen was very low,
many of them being unable to write proper English. However, this situation changed
when they realized that literacy would bring success in their business and also an
improvement in their social status (Salmon 1996: 11). Parents were advised to teach their
children how to read and write, so these skills could lead them to a more prosperous life.
P. M. Jones (2011: 32) follows Ford (1993) when distinguishing between
“functional” and “cultural” literacy. The former is “the acquisition of skills that enable the
individual to achieve basic goals that are suited to a particular way of life or occupation,”
whereas the latter “enables the possessor to read books for religious or literary
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edification.” Most medical texts, whose role in the present dissertation is an important
one, can be classified under the label of functional literacy, since they were used to
restore or maintain health.
The rise in the level of literacy brought about an increase in the demand for books
due to two main reasons. On the one hand, they were used in schools as a teaching tool
and, on the other, they were a must-have for those new literate people (Bennett 1970: 80).
Schools were sponsored by donors, who made emphasis on the fact that they should be
free and open to everybody. This conception brings as a result a noticeable growth in the
educational facilities. Most of these schools taught the vernacular while some scholars
taught Latin for free.
In her 1996 monograph, Salmon (1996: 12) gives an account of the aspects of
linguistic competence that schoolmasters intended to inculcate in their pupils. They were
first, acceptable spelling (...); secondly, acceptable pronunciation which
would provide the foundation for correct orthography; thirdly, the
avoidance of grammatical solecisms; fourthly, the comprehension and
use of vocabulary derived from classical sources.
As is clear from this quotation, in this period, there existed a strong demand for a proper
use of the vernacular in fields such as speech, orthography and vocabulary. Due to this
prescriptivism, there appeared dictionaries of hard words, for their correct use,
dictionaries of synonyms, where elegant Latinate borrowings could be found as synonyms
for plain native words, and also prescriptive dictionaries which helped to distinguish
between tricky pairs such as ingenious and ingenuous.
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To sum up, the number of literate people remarkably increased in this period
thanks not only to the new free schools which spread literacy among all levels of society,
but especially because of the new conception of literacy, which was regarded as a
requirement for improving social and economical status.
4.4.2. Audience, readership and discourse community
The concepts of audience, readership and discourse community are closely interconnected
and sometimes audience and readership are even used as synonyms. As stated in the
previous section, the level of literacy remarkably increased during the EModE period, so
that it may be rewarding to know who these readers were since they may have had an
impact on the kind of writings of the time. However, first of all, the concepts of audience,
readership and discourse community should be discussed and clarified.
4.4.2.1. Audience
On account of its centrality in the rhetoric of writing, many studies have dealt with the
concept of audience from very different perspectives (Ong 1975; Overington 1977; Park
1982). This section summarizes these views and also focuses on the audience of EModE
scientific texts.
Park (1982: 249) establishes two different meanings for the concept of “audience.”
On the one hand, it refers to the “actual people external to a text, the audience to whom
the writer must accommodate.” On the other, “a set of suggested or evoked attitudes,
interests, reactions, conditions of knowledge which may or may not fit with the qualities
of actual readers or listeners.” As opposed to speakers, writers do not have their audiences
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in front of them, so “[t]he historian, the scholar or scientist, and the simple letter writer all
fictionalize their audiences, casting them in a made-up role and calling on them to play
the role assigned” (Ong 1975: 17). Thus, readers have been assigned a set of features by
the writer and they must conform to this role, even though this role usually differs from
their role in real life. In this sense, as Ong (1975:12) points out, audience is always a
fiction. Although it has proved difficult to establish a clear identity for the audience, the
writer must make an effort to “adjust” and “accommodate” his discourse to the
characteristics of this fictional audience (Park 1982: 248). Along these lines, Hoey (2001:
14) argues that:
[t]he audience of a text is the intended readership, the imaginary person
or persons whom the writer addresses and whose questions s/he tries to
answer. Ultimately the audience is always a figment of the writer’s
imagination since no writer, however skilled, can ever get inside
someone else’s mind so completely as to know exactly what they want
and need to learn.
In science an author may decide the amount of technical vocabulary used in a
particular text taking into account the degree of familiarity with the topic that he assumes
in his audience. This assumed knowledge is also realized through the “other contexts and
other texts” to which the audience is assumed to have access (Eggins and Martin 1997:
233). However, it might also well be the case that some writers, instead of thinking about
their hypothetical audience, might be just trying to follow a specific format of writing.
However, such formats are still closely related with a specific kind of audience in that
they help to identify and fulfill the reader’s expectations (Park 1982: 254). In this
connection, Berkenkotter (1981: 393) maintains that writers who wrote to persuade, as in
the case of scientists (Gross 1990: 5), thought more often about their audience than those
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who narrated personal histories. When dealing with science, Overington (1977: 143-144)
proposes to change the conception of audience by that of “scientific community,” an idea
which is further developed in section 4.4.2.3 below.
4.4.2.2. Readership
As shown in section 4.4.2.1 above, the concept of audience is vague since it is just a
fiction created by the writer, that is, it is the kind of reader the writer expects will read his
work. In order to refer to the actual readers of a specific work, the term readership is
therefore more accurate (Pahta and Taavitsainen 2004: 15).
In the case of diachronic studies, it is difficult to determine the readership of a
particular work or set of works. However, there are some clues to build a picture of
events. As already noted, the number of readers increased dramatically in EModE, mainly
due to two different factors, namely, the growth in educational facilities and the
introduction of the printing press, which made books affordable for the middle classes
(see sections 4.4.1 and 4.2.2 above). This new middle class was interested in sciences, so
a new market for scientists gradually emerged. However, many writers were aware of the
fact that some of their possible readers were not very skilled in the task of reading, so
their way of writing was adapted to them by using a plain style that even simple readers
could understand (Bennett 1970: 82). Furthermore, writers knew that using foreign
languages as well as presenting information in large tomes might also be an obstacle
when addressing this type of readers. In order to avoid these kinds of problems, the titles
of medical books usually showed the type of readers they were intended for. Thus, apart
from books designed for professionals such as doctors or surgeons, there were also works
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designed to attract the attention of lay people such as “the good Huswife” or the ordinary
householder unable to afford medical aid (Bennett 1970: 144-145) (see Section 4.5
below).
4.4.2.3. Discourse community
Since individuals play a role in linguistic change, it is important to analyze the discourse
community in which a specific linguistic feature develops. Linguistic community is
understood in this study as
[a] group of people who have texts and practices in common, whether it
is a group of academics, or the readers of teenage magazines. In fact,
discourse community can refer to several overlapping groups of people:
it can refer to the people a text is aimed at; it can be the set of people
who read a text; or it can refer to the people who participate in a set of
discourse practices both by reading and by writing. (...) More generally,
discourse communities are defined by having a set of common interests,
values and purposes. (Barton 1994: 57)
Members belonging to the same professional community share their own variety
of discourse to communicate with each other (Berkenkotter et al. 1991: 192). Thus,
members-to-be of a specific community, in this case a scientific one, are required to learn
how to use linguistic conventions in order to communicate with their peers. These
linguistic skills are acquired not only by instruction but also by directly reading the
creations of their peers. As Overington (1977: 155) puts it,
[i]n such a training program individuals learn what is the basis for
speaking scientifically. They learn what kind of experiences are valued
by other scientists, and what experiences, therefore, they should seek
out for themselves. They learn where to look for things to talk about,
how they can look, and for what in particular they should search. They
learn how to talk about these experiences in plausible terms and what
part of their searches are to be discussed and what ignored. Finally,
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they acquire an understanding of the nature of the audience that will
“enjoy” their reports.
It seems that scientists share what Overington (1977: 147) calls “patterns of
communication.” Taavitsainen (2001b: 25) refers to the learning process of the medical
community in particular. She points out that in the late ME and EModE periods
“[m]edical professionals had common public goals, intercommunication and participation
mechanisms, genres of communication, special lexis, and membership was acquired by a
learning process even in the late medieval and early modern periods.”
Even within the scientific community, there are changes and disagreements, which
are only solved by persuasion of the members of that community. In Overington’s (1977:
146) words, “[s]cience is unique in striving for, and insisting on, a consensus.” Thus,
statements or publications can only become scientific knowledge by the collective
agreement of scientists. Ziman (1984) takes the position that a journal article, the
fundamental form of public communication among scientists, is no more than data or
information (despite the refereeing procedure) that might become knowledge over time if
it is neither ignored nor contradicted.
However, it must be noted that, even in a discourse community, the discourse used is
not always homogeneous. This is related to the kind of writer and to the audience to
which a text is addressed. In the case of science, the education of the writer plays an
important role in the kind of discourse used. This is shown by Norri (1992: 65), who
analyzes the names of sicknesses in three categories of medical texts in ME, namely,
academic treatises, surgical texts and remedy books. According to him, in academic
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treatises, there is a higher preference for foreign terms, namely Latin and French names of
sicknesses. Hence, the amount of native names 13 in the 15 th century is much lower than
that of foreign terms (144 native items vs. 253 foreign). In the case of surgical texts there
is also a preference for foreign terms, although not as definite as in the case of academic
treatises (148 native vs. 196 foreign terms). Finally, the amount of foreign words
decreases in remedy books, where their number is the same as that of native terms (85
items of each kind). These differences may be explained by sociohistorical factors like the
author’s education and the level of readership (Taavitsainen 2001a: 86), the latter being
even more important since it shows more variation (Taavitsainen 2010: 34). Academic
treatises were used to teach at universities, where a good command of Latin was required.
By contrast, remedy books were health guides intended to be read by any literate person
(see Section 4.5 for further details). However, at that time the fact of having literacy in
English did not imply an understanding of Latin words. This might be the reason why
these words were used much less frequently than in academic treatises or surgical texts.
4.5. Medicine and the language of medical writing in the EModE period
Since Section 6.3 of this dissertation is devoted to the analysis of the differences in the
type and use of nominalizations in medical writing, it is essential to deal in greater detail
with the status of medicine and the different categories of medical writing in the EModE
period because, as is well known, the sociohistorical context plays an important role in
linguistic development.
13 In Norri’s (1992) study native also applies to those names created by affixation having foreign roots and
to loan translations.
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4.5.1. Medicine and the medical writing tradition
Originally, the medical field was more heterogeneous, and the borderlines of medicine
were not as clearly-defined as they are nowadays. Furthermore, medicine did not have the
status of science, but was considered to be just a craft. In the late ME and EModE
periods, medical practitioners were divided into academic doctors, surgeons, barbersurgeons
and apothecaries, and leeches, midwives and bone-setters (Hiltunen and Tyrkkö
2011: 46-48, Taavitsainen and Pahta 1995: 519).
Academic doctors were at the top level of the medical practitioners because they
had studied at prestigious universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, and even abroad.
Their knowledge was based on scholastic philosophy and ancient authorities such as
Hyppocrates, Galen or Avicen, and they hardly ever examined patients. Second on the
scale were the barber-surgeons and apothecaries, who learned by apprenticeship. Contrary
to academic doctors, surgeons and apothecaries emphasized practical skill and knowledge
acquired by personal experience and observation. They used surgical books as practical
guidebooks, especially in printed format. They knew Latin, but in a rudimentary way. At
the bottom of the scale were midwives, bone-setters and other healers, who were usually
illiterate, so their skills were acquired by apprenticeship and experience. Whereas
surgeons used printed material, these groups were fond of manuscripts. In EModE there
thus existed a multitude of medical practitioners. However, surgeons, apothecaries and
healers were the ones more often solicited, due to the scarcity of academic doctors and
their high fees.
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By the beginning of the 17 th century, there was a great demand for books on
medical issues, and as a result, a debate concerning the suitability of using the vernacular
in this kind of writing. As mentioned in Section 4.3.2.3, there were two main reasons for
the opposition to medical writing in the vernacular. On the one hand, it might have
brought discredit on this genre, and on the other, all the knowledge of this science would
be disclosed to the general public. Sometimes writers using the vernacular were also
criticized for endangering the health of ordinary people, who might attempt to be their
own physicians. However, writers using the vernacular said that if laymen faced some
difficulty in understanding the instructions given, they could always ask the physician for
advice, and backed themselves on the fact that ancient authorities such as Latin, Greek
and Arabian physicists wrote in their mother tongue (Bennett 1970: 140, 142).
There were also cases when illiterate people could have access to medical writing.
Some kinds of medical texts such as proclamations, plague orders or bills of mortality
were written to be read aloud in front of an audience, usually in public places. In this way,
a person who could read acted as a transmissor of the information contained in the
writings to the others (P. M. Jones 2011: 33).
4.5.2. Medical writings
As Taavitsainen et al. (2011: 9) point out, English medical texts in the EModE period
were a large heterogeneous group of writings. There was a wide range of medical topics,
and their authors were also quite heterogeneous since they belonged to different
educational and professional backgrounds. Furthermore, medical texts could be found in
print or in manuscripts. At the time, there were writings whose target was a professional
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audience, but during the 17 th
century many books were written for a lay audience
(Bennett 1970: 142). There were also some writings based on lectures on anatomy and
surgery given at the Barber-Surgeons’ Hall, which appeared in print just to be easy to
carry to those places required by the surgeon. These lectures were part of the training
programme (which also had practical lessons) of The Company of the Barber-Surgeons of
London for lecturing surgeons-to-be (Robinson 1984: 1171). Healing herbs were a current
topic in printed books at that time (Bennett 1970: 146). From the mid 16 th century
onwards, medical pamphlets became also very common (cf. Ratia and Suhr 2011: 180-
184). They were ephemeral, cheap and easy-to-print texts. They could deal with medical
controversies, having a professional readership, or having an advertising function. In the
latter case, they had the widest audience and were read aloud in public places as was the
case with news pamphlets. It seems therefore that in EModE, there was a great variety of
medical writings dealing with many different topics and intended for different kinds of
audience. However, this study will focus just on academic treatises, surgical treatises and
remedy books due to time and space reasons. The main features of these texts will be
outlined in what follows.
4.5.2.1. Academic treatises
Academic treatises represent the most learned level of writing of the medical texts
considered in this dissertation as they were generally intended to foster knowledge among
professionals (Taavitsainen 2002: 202). They consisted of a range of learned texts dealing
with bloodletting, ophthalmology, embryology, urinoscopy, gynaecology, the plague and
other diseases, as well as encyclopaedic treatises rooted in the academic tradition (Pahta
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and Taavitsainen 2004: 15). These treatises were generally translations of Latin texts, and
so they showed a formal resemblance, imitating their style. They usually had a
depersonalized mood and referred to ancient medical authorities such as Galen or
Avicenna. In these texts, the expository parts prevailed over the instructive ones, which
were often embedded into the text. However, this was not a homogeneous category and
different types of treatises were intended for different audiences. These differences are
discussed in depth in the monograph edited by Taavitsainen and Pahta (2010, see Pahta
and Ratia 2010: 73-99; Taavitsainen and Tyrkkö 2010: 65-72). On the other hand, there
were general treatises and textbooks, intended for learned specialists and practitioners as
well as for lay people belonging to the middle class. On the other hand, there were
treatises on specific topics, having specific audiences depending on the topic.
Taavitsainen and Pahta (1995: 522) point out that treatises for wide audiences usually had
an instructive purpose, so they used imperative forms quite frequently.
4.5.2.2. Surgical treatises
This category consists of surgical manuals and anatomical descriptions. They were also
considered to be academic because most of them were compiled by university masters
and used to teach at universities (Pahta and Taavitsainen 2004: 15). However, in general
terms, they had a practical use, being used mainly by the members of the surgical
community and particularly by apprentices (Tyrkkö 2010: 123), so they were considered
to be more popular than academic treatises. If we pay attention to their style, surgical
treatises relate medical procedures and, as a result, they used imperatives and second
person pronouns very frequently (Taavitsainen and Pahta 1995: 521)
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4.5.2.3. Remedy books
Printed remedy books were direct descendants from medieval manuscript recipe
collections. Texts under the label “remedy books” were usually anonymous, their authors
not always being professional physicians (Marttila 2011: 136). The first texts belonging
to this subgenre date from OE, and they were, of course, written in the vernacular
(Taavitsainen 2006: 689). They comprise recipe collections with prognostications and
charms, and other guides for maintaining health, including texts on diet and exercise that
can also be learned writings (Pahta and Taavitsainen 2004: 15). They contain little theory
because they are practically oriented, that is, they mostly list remedies for several
diseases. These books were usually associated with popular medicine and their audience
was quite wide since their low price made them affordable for a range of people,
comprising the social elite, apothecaries and even yeomen and tradesmen, householders
and gentlewomen (Marttila 2010: 107). Regimens and health guides focused on the
keeping of health rather than on the treatment of illness and their intended audience were
the members of the middle and upper levels of society since general people had not
enough money to follow the advice given in these books (Suhr 2010: 111-126). Slack
(1979: 237 in Marttila 2011) claims that remedy books “can scarcely have reached the
illiterate poor, and the extent of their diffusion even among the literate may well be
questioned.” Similarly, Fissel (2007: 111 in Marttila 2011) claims that the audience
mentioned in titles and prologues of remedy books cannot be taken literally. They should
be understood in a rhetorical sense, pointing out that not deep literacy skills were
required.
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4.6. Summary
During the EModE period remarkable changes took place in science. On the one hand, the
scientific community became heterogeneous as gentlemen and tradesmen started to show
an interest in scientific issues. New people meant that new interests and new methodology
were added to the already existing ones. Therefore, cooperation among this
heterogeneous scientific community was fostered, and the experimental method acquired
relevance at the time. Thus, the results of the experiments were published and authors
obtained feedback from their peer scientists. Furthermore, new scientists started to work
on the basis of already existing studies, making it possible for science to advance.
Apart from methodological changes, there were also linguistic changes. Latin, the
lingua franca of science up to that time, started to lose ground in favour of the vernacular.
This preference for the vernacular was a strategy of accommodation to the audience of
scientific texts, which was much wider due to factors such as the increase in literacy and
the printing press, which made books affordable for middle classes. This middle class
became literate in the vernacular, but was not able to understand Latin, so authors started
to translate works into the vernacular, and to write new articles and books in English in
order to cover this need in the book market. Soon not only popular writings were in the
vernacular, but also academic ones. As already mentioned, the English language needed
to be adapted in order to be used in this new register.
It makes sense, then, that the analysis of nominalizations in this study should take
into account the heterogeneity of science. It will be interesting to see if the various
features of nominalizations examined in this chapter (e.g. transparency, grammatical
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metaphor and so on) can be adequately observed in the various types of medical writing
existing at the time. It will also be interesting to check whether the heterogeneity of
scientific writing has an impact on the frequency and use of nominalizations. Finally, it
also seems relevant to analyze how nominalizations, especially Romance
nominalizations, became part of the English language in a period of such lexical
expansion. All these aspects will be analyzed in the corpus study in Chapter 6.
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
In order to examine the development and use of action nominalizations in Early Modern
scientific writing I have opted for a corpus-based study, since resorting to one’s own
intuitions proves of little help in the analysis of the language of earlier periods, as noted
widely in the literature (see Svartvik 1992: 8, among many others).
In this chapter I offer information on the corpora used, the methodology employed
and the decisions taken in the classification of nominalizations in my database. More
specifically, Section 5.1 describes the corpora selected for the present study, gives the lists
of texts selected, and their number of words; issues such as text sampling are also
considered. Section 5.2 focuses on the suffixes analyzed, providing morphological and
semantic information about these; it also describes the methodology used for their retrieval
from the texts under analysis. Finally, Section 5.3 is structured in two parts. The first of
these outlines the various parameters employed in the classification of nominalizations,
namely: a) the type of constituents making up the nominalization phrase; b) the function of
this phrase in the superordinate structure; and c) its internal syntax. The second part
discusses the difficulties encountered when classifying the nominalizations in the corpora.
5.1. Corpora
As already noted, the present investigation is a corpus-based study examining action
nominalizations in Early Modern scientific English, as well as the possible influence on
their use and frequency by extralinguistic factors such as audience and text category. The
corpora selected for this purpose are the Penn-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Early Modern
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English (PPCEME; cf. Kroch, Santorini and Delfs 2004) and Early Modern English
Medical Texts (EMEMT; Taavitsainen et al. 2010). A detailed description of both corpora
is provided in what follows.
5.1.1. The Penn-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Early Modern English
The PPCEME is a syntactically annotated corpus of prose text samples, and is a useful
resource for the study of nominalizations in the EModE period. It was compiled between
1999 to 2004 and contains roughly 1.8 million words (in a total of 229 texts) subdivided
into three directories: Helsinki, Penn 1 and Penn 2. The Helsinki directory comprises
573,000 words. Both the Penn 1 and the Penn 2 are supplements to the Helsinki Corpus
(see Kytö 1996), and whenever possible comprise samples taken from the same authors
and editions found in the Helsinki Corpus. Penn 1 contains roughly 615,000 words, and
Penn 2 approximately 606,000 words.
The texts in PPCEME cover three different subperiods: E1 (1500 to 1570), E2 (1570
to 1640), and E3 (1640 to 1710). All three subperiods contain samples of eighteen genres:
Bible, Biography/Autobiography, Biography (other), Diary (private), Drama/Comedy,
Educational Treatise, Fiction, Handbook (other), History, Law, Letters (non-private),
Letters (private), Philosophy, Proceedings/Trials, Science/Medicine, Science (other),
Sermons and Travelogue. Of these, the genres Science/Medicine and Science (other) have
been selected for this study. At 118,235 words in total, they together represent 6.8% of the
total word count of the whole corpus.
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PPCEME provides comprehensive metadata (biographical information on the
author, date of publication, edition(s) used, etc.) on each individual text, as can be seen in
Table 2 below:
Table 2. Information provided by PPCEME for Boyle’s Electricity & Magnetism
Author
Boyle, Robert
Birthdate b. 1627, d. 1691
Filename
boyle.e3
Manuscript
n/a
Date of composition 1675-1676
Genre
SCIENCE OTHER
Edition
Gunther, Robert William Theodore (ed.). 1927 (facsimile).
Electricity & magnetism, 1675-6. Old Ashmolean Reprints,
7. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sample Exhaustive sample of Gunther 1927.
1.1E-7.27E (Penn 1),
8.1E-38.30E (Helsinki),
1.1M-20.24M (Penn 2)
Remarks
Supplemented by boylecol.e3.
The book consists of two parts, each numbered from p. 1 and
devoted to electricity and magnetism, respectively. Page
numbers followed by "E" and "M" are from the first and
second parts of the book, respectively.
This information is relevant for the classification of nominals according to the
variables analyzed. Furthermore, all texts contain identification codes which contain
information about subdivisions, line numbers and so on, as in (101) below:
(101) (CLOWES-E2-P1,7.59) The same being tolde mee, me thought it
was a strange alternation: (CLOWES-E2-P1,7.60) howebeit, I did
take their good speeches very kindly, (CLOWES-E2-P1,7.601) and
so would haue done still, if it had pleased them to continue in the
same good opinion of me, or to haue bin silent.
However, these identification codes will not be used in order to unify criteria. The
EMEMT texts were not used as a whole, but only roughly the first 5,000 words (see
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Section 5.1.2 below). These words were extracted manually, and so no information about
subdivisions and line numbers is retained. Therefore, in examples from both texts, only the
subperiod, year of publication, name of the author and the title will be provided between
brackets at the end of the example. In the case of the EMEMT texts, information about the
category of texts will also be given, that is, “remedy” for remedy books, “surgery” for
surgical treatises and “academic” for academic treatises. Following this pattern, example
(101) above becomes (102):
(102) The same being tolde mee, me thought it was a strange alternation:
howebeit, I did take their good speeches very kindly, and so would
haue done still, if it had pleased them to continue in the same good
opinion of me, or to haue bin silent. (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for
the artificiall cure of struma)
5.1.2. Early Modern English Medical Texts
EMEMT (Taavitsainen et al. 2010) is a register-specific corpus which was chosen here
because it facilitates the analysis of differences in the use and frequency of action
nominalizations in the various categories of medical writing. It was compiled between
2000 and 2010 as a component of the three-part Corpus of Early English Medical Writing
1375-1800. It contains two million words, and provides a comprehensive view of EModE
medical writing, containing a wide range of texts (c. 450), from the most popular
categories to the most learned and theoretically-oriented medical writings.
Texts in EMEMT are not divided into time periods, leaving to researchers the
choice of the periodization which best suits their purposes. In the present study, the
periodization derives from that used in PPCEME, since the data from these two corpora
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will be analyzed together. It must be noted, however, that the data from EMEMT will alone
be used in Section 6.3, when looking at the use of nominalizations in the different
categories of medical writing.
As in the case of PPCEME, EMEMT also offers comprehensive information on the
texts it contains. For instance, the data provided for the academic treatise by Bailey are
listed in Table 3:
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Table 3. Information provided in EMEMT for Bailey’s Preseruation of eie-sight
Author
Walter Bailey [Bayley, Baley]
Full title of text TREATISES CONCERNING the Preseruation of EIE-SIGHT. The
first written by Doctor BAILY sometimes of Oxford: the other
collected out of those two famous Phisicions FERNELIVS and
RIOLANVS.
Year of publication 1616 (4 th ed.)
Publishing information Originally Oxford: By Ioseph Barnes [i.e. G. Eld], for Iohn Barnes
[in London]
Catalogue number STC (2 nd ed.) 1196
Physical description Octavo, [6], 62, [2] pp.
Source copy
Facsimile edition, The English experience No. 709, Norwood, NJ
and Amsterdam: Walter J. Johnson and Theatrum Orbis Terrarum,
1975.
File name in EMEMT 1616_Bailey_PreseruationOfEiesight
Word count 10,355
Description of the text Treatise on ocular health.
Contents
The first part of the book advises on ways to preserve the health of
the eyes, including proper regimen of life and various medicines
and how to prepare them. The second part discusses diseases of
the eyes and their treatment with recipes for medicines.
Parts included
Almost the entire book, except the last eight pages.
Additional information An edition, with additions, of A briefe treatise touching the
preservation of the eie sight (1 st ed. 1586). The first part is
ascribed to Bailey and, according to the title page, the second part
is compiled from Riolan's and Fernelius's works.
Link to ESTC
http://estc.bl.uk/S114909
Link to EEBO
http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-
2003&res_id=xri:eebo&rft_id=xri:eebo:citation:99850131
Biographical
Walter Bailey (author)
information
Dates of birth and death 1529-1592/3
About the author Bailey was an English physician and author. He studied at
Winchester College and New College, Oxford, where he
graduated BA, MA and MB. He was as a professor of medicine at
Oxford and was awarded his MD there. He was also fellow of the
College of Physicians and a physician to Queen Elizabeth I and
Earl of Leicester. Bailey published and compiled several books on
a variety of medical subjects.
Texts by the same Walter Bailey: Mithridatium (1585)
author in EMEMT Walter Bailey: Three kindes of peppers (1588)
Link to Dictionary of http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/1757
National Biography
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
Note that in addition to bibliographical information on the text and biographical
information on the author, EMEMT also provides links to the original text in Early English
Books Online (EEBO), and to other databases.
5.1.3. Text sampling
After the selection of the corpora, the next step is the choice of texts to be used in the
study. The two corpora contain more than 2,100,000 words of scientific writing, 118,235
words in the case of PPCEME and 2,000,000 in the case of EMEMT. As noted in Romaine
(1982: 111), the size of the sample depends on the frequency of the feature under analysis.
If the feature is quite common in a particular language or stage of a language, only a small
sample is required, whereas the analysis of a rare feature or phenomenon requires a larger
sample.
In order to explore this issue, a pilot study was carried out (Vázquez-López 2010)
to test for the frequency of action nominalizations in scientific discourse, and thus to
determine the number of words needed. For this initial study, texts totalling 79,199 words
were drawn from the Helsinki and Penn 1 directories of PPCEME. Analysis revealed that
action nominalizations were quite a frequent phenomenon in early scientific writing and
followed recognizable patterns of use. Hence a large sample was not necessary for a
comprehensive account of the use of action nominalizations in this period. The number of
words used, then, is not excessively large, and is listed in tables 4, 5, 6 and 7 below.
All the texts from PPCEME that belong either to physical or medical sciences in
the Helsinki and the Penn 1 directories have been included in the study.
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As can be seen in Table 4 below, they make a total of eight texts, two authors per
subperiod. The texts from E1 (1500 to 1570) are a medical text by Thomas Vicary and a
work on geometry by Robert Record. Texts from E2 are William Clowes’ medical treatise
and two works on geometry and cosmography by Thomas Blundevile. In turn, the E3
period is represented by Robert Hooke’s Micrographia and The life and work of Robert
Hooke (1665) and Robert Boyle’s Electricity & Magnetism (1675-1676).
Table 4. Number of words and texts analyzed in PPCEME
Period Year Title Author Words
E1 1548 The anatomie of the bodie of man Vicary, 13,059
(1500-
1570) 1551 The path-way to knowledge, containing the first
Thomas
Record, 13,974
principles of geometrie
Robert
E2 1597 A briefe description of the tables of the three Blundevile, 13,763
(1570-
1640)
speciall right lines belonging to a circle, called
signes, lines tangent, and lines secant /
A plaine treatise of the first principles of
cosmographie, and specially of the Spheare,
representing the shape of the whole world
Thomas
1602 Treatise for the artificiall cure of struma Clowes, 14,984
William
E3 1665 The life and work of Robert Hooke/
Hooke, 9,763
(1640-
1710) 1675-
Micrographia
Electricity & magnetism
Robert
Boyle, 13,656
1676
Robert
Total 79,199
From EMEMT, texts were selected only from the categories of remedy books,
surgical treatises and academic treatises. The intention was to obtain data from texts
belonging to different writing traditions and intended for different audiences, on the
assumption that differences in the use and origin of the nominalizations employed might
thus be revealed. It must be noted that there is no category “remedy books” as such in the
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
corpus. Remedy books usually include texts from “recipe collections and materia medica”
as well as “regimens and health guides”. For our purposes here, only texts from the former
were included, since they had a more popular audience (for further details see Section 6.3).
A total of nine authors were selected from each of the three subperiods, in an attempt to
capture the whole picture of medical writing at the time. Thus, there are native authors
such as Thomas Gale and Richard Wiseman as well as translations from foreign authors,
including Chauliac and De Vigo. A continuous extract of 5,000 words from the beginning
of the corpus text was analyzed for each text. This is considered to be a representative
sample of the text, after earlier pilot studies showed that larger samples did not lead to
significant differences in findings. In the case of the academic treatises in E1 (1500-1570;
see Table 7 below) the number of words is higher, since only two authors were available,
so a longer sample from these two texts proved necessary. Tables 5, 6 and 7 give details on
number of words, texts and data of publication:
Table 5. Number of words analyzed per text in the category of remedy books
Period Year Title Author Words
E1 1525 Newe mater Anonymous 5,381
(1500- 1526 Grete herbal Anonymous 5,387
1570) 1563 Antidotaire Gale, Thomas 5,462
E2 1573 Treasurie of commodious Partridge, John 5,394
(1570-
1640) 1597
conceits
Garden of health Langham,
5,272
William
1639 Alphabetical book Wood, Owen 5,444
E3 1652 London dispensatory Culpeper,
5,126
(1640-
1710) 1678 Royal pharmacopoea
Nicholas
Charas, Moyse 5,473
1700 Supplement to the compleat Woolley,
5,112
servant maid
Hannah
Total 48,051
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Table 6. Number of words analyzed per text in the category of surgical treatises
Period Year Title Author Words
E1 1525 Handy warke of surgeri Braunschweig, 5,488
(1500-
1570) 1543 Most excellent workes of
Hieronymus
De Vigo,
5,400
chirurgerye
Johannes
1563 Institution of a chirurgian Gale, Thomas 5,427
E2 1579 Qvydos qvestions Chauliac, Guy de 5,407
(1570- 1612 Whole art of chyrvrgerie Lowe, Peter 5,445
1640) 1630 Chyrvrgians closet Bonham,
5,186
Thomas
E3 1650 Workes of that famous Read, Alexander 5,459
(1640-
1710) 1676
physitian
Of wounds Wiseman,
5,522
Richard
1698 Novum lumen chirurgicum Colbatch, John 5,439
Total 48,773
Table 7. Number of words analyzed per text in the category of academic treatises
Period Year Title Author Words
E1 1552 Against sweatyng sicknesse Caius, John 7,543
(1500- 1566 Dial for all agves Jones, John 7,849
1570)
E2 1586 Treatise of melancholy Bright, Timothy 5,122
(1570- 1616 Preseruation of eie-sight Bailey, Walter 5,318
1640) 1633 Gutta podagrica Holland,
5,517
Philemon
E3 1662 Sixth book of practical physick Sennert, Daniel 5,351
(1640- 1666 Morbus anglicus Harvey, Gideon 5,386
1710) 1697 Continuation of the account of Cockburn,
5,496
distempers
William
Total 47,582
As mentioned in Section 5.1.1 above, all examples from these texts will be
preceded by the name of the author, the title, the year of publication and the category of
medical writing to which the text belongs, as in (103) here:
(103) The first Galen putteth in the vi. booke of his Theraperticke, and is
such, for the Chyrurgions that be ignoraunt in the Anatomie, maye
erre in many manners in their incision of sinues and their knittings,
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the which if they knew the nature of euery member, their setting
and collygation that they haue in all the body, (...) (E2 1579
Chauliac Qvydos qvestions Surgery)
5.2. Overview of the suffixes examined
As mentioned in Chapter 1, the reason for the selection of the suffixes –ing, –(at)ion,
–ment, –ance, –age, –ure and –al is that they are the most frequently used nominalizing
suffixes to create action nouns, both of native and Romance origin (Nevalainen 1999: 395-
396; see also Banks 2003). It must be borne in mind that my study is diachronic and covers
a span of time of roughly two centuries (from about 1500 to 1710), so certain issues
relating to these suffixes, such as productivity, may change over time. I will deal with such
aspects later on (cf. Section 6.1.4). For the moment, the emphasis will be on describing the
suffixes from a formal and semantic point of view, and in addition, the methodology
followed for the analysis of these suffixes will be developed in Section 5.2.2 below.
5.2.1. Morphology and semantics
All the suffixes covered in this study are used to create abstract nouns from verbs. Thus,
they are quite similar semantically. However, as Dalton-Puffer (1996) notes, it must not be
taken for granted that all of them are synonymous. As Marchand (1969 [1960]: 227) also
points out:
[s]uffixes may be “synonymous in the same way as full words are, viz. they
partially overlap semantically. As far as Chicagoan, New Yorker, Viennese,
Manhattanite…are concerned, the four suffixes represent the same concept
“inhabitant of…” (…) However, each one suffix has a different totality of
semantic features. No two combine alike formally or with the same intellectual
or emotional connotation, though in particular cases two types are very nearly
interchangeable. (…) Any one sign is determined by the totality of
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combinations in which it may occur and which cannot be the same as that of
another sign.
Lloyd (2011) systematically analyzes the semantic differences of the above-mentioned
suffixes in the ME period. I will follow Lloyd’s example here, dealing with each suffix
independently in order to reflect its peculiarities. The origin (Germanic or Romance) of
each has been used as a basis for classification.
5.2.1.1. The Germanic suffix –ing
As noted in Chapter 2, over the course of ME the native suffix –ing, initially used to form
action nouns, developed into a “gerund” with verbal characteristics. There has been
extensive discussion on this process (Jespersen 1940 [1909] Vol. V: 86-150; Huddleston
2002a: 81-83; see also Chapter 2 above), but the present section focuses only on its
morphology and semantics.
OE had two suffixes to form action nouns from weak verbs, –ung and –ing. The
former was originally used with verbs belonging to class 2, such as lufian ‘to love,’ whose
infinitive ended in –ian (see further Hogg 2005 [1992] Vol I: 160-162), while –ing was
used with class 1 verbs, such as trymman ‘to strengthen’ (see Hogg 2005 [1992] Vol I:157-
159). This verbal class was the most common one among weak verbs, having an infinitive
ending in –an, preterite in –(e)de, and past participle in –(e)d. Thus, instances of action
nouns from the two kinds of weak verbs are hergung ‘plunder’ (cf. preterite hergode), and
hering ‘praising’ (cf. preterite herede; see Jespersen (1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 377). However,
in some texts an alternation between –ing and –ung can be found. As Jespersen (1942
[1909] Vol. VI: 377) puts it, “in some texts –ing and –ung alternate according to the vowel
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of the ending (–ingum, but otherwise –ung).” According to Jespersen (1942 [1909]), the
–ung(e) form is the most frequent during early ME (1100-1300), but from this period
onwards, the disappearance of –ung happens quite rapidly, and the –ing form becomes the
regular one.
In addition, since the late OE the suffix had also been extended to strong verbs to form
substantives, as with OE brecan, bláwan and biddan, from which corresponding
substantives in –ing were formed. From the 13 th century formations from French bases
were also frequent, for example serving, assaillynge and plainynge (Jespersen 1942 [1909]
Vol. VI: 377). In other words, at this stage it became possible to form substantives ending
in –ing from any type of verb.
The –ing formation differs from the verb simply in its syntactic category, in that it
belongs to the category noun (Dalton-Puffer 1996). Other than this, the verb meaning is
basically retained: the majority of the examples of –ing nouns, such as shedding or
blessing, can be classified as action nouns meaning ‘act/process of doing x.’ However,
according to Marchand (1969 [1960]: 304), some other semantic categories can also be
discerned, namely result nouns (offerings ‘sth connected with the action of offering,’
writings), locative nouns (hidings ‘hiding place’), collective nouns (doings, workings; cf.
OED s.v. working n. 5. “Action, operation. a. Of a person; esp. collect. sing. and pl.
actions, doings, deeds”), and material nouns (‘something material connected with the
verbal idea,’ such as enarmynges; cf. MED s.v. enarming ger. 1. “An armed attack;”
norysschynge; MED s.v. nourishing(e) ger. 2 “Food or drink; nourishment”).
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5.2.1.2. Romance suffixes
The presence of Romance derivational suffixes in English is explained by the profound
changes undergone by the system of English derivation during the ME period, especially
as a result of the close contact with French, which, following the Norman Conquest of
1066 became the language spoken by the new Norman nobility and also, together with
Latin, the official written standard (Dalton-Puffer 1996: 52). Although “[d]uring the 13 th
and 14 th centuries the ties of the Norman-descended nobility with France were loosened or
severed altogether (…) and the role of the French language in English society became
more and more restricted (…) the number of loans from French (especially
morphologically complex ones) simply explodes in Middle English” (Dalton-Puffer 1996:
52). These Romance words were especially frequent in texts combining formal, written
and scientific or technical features (Dalton-Puffer 1996: 49) due to the lack of specialized
native vocabulary. This extensive borrowing taking place at the time, as a means of
making English a suitable language for all registers, included not only lexical items but
also derivational suffixes to create new words following Romance patterns.
Such was the situation of Romance suffixes during ME as outlined by Dalton-Puffer
(1996; see also Lloyd 2011: 13-30; for a description of the status of Romance suffixes in
EModE see Section 6.1.4 below). In what follows, I offer a morphological and semantic
description of each of the Romance suffixes under analysis in this dissertation.
5.2.1.2.1. –(at)ion
The –(at)ion suffix comes from the Latin suffix –ion–em, which was attached to a
participial stem. Therefore, the majority of nouns ending in –(at)ion in English derive from
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
participial forms of Latin verbs, mainly from those ending in –ate, –fy and –ize/–ise.
Consider, for example, adulteration, exaggeration, classification, amplification and
centralization (Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 374). This suffix is also found in
formations from native stems, such as, flirtation, starvation, flotation and Westernization
(Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 375).
As regards semantics, being originally added to the “passive participle,” in Latin
the –(at)ion suffix had a primarily passive meaning: ‘state of being –ed.’ In the case of
English, however, nominals derived with –(at)ion are usually nouns of action or process
meaning ‘the action or process of Ving’ (Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 372). Similarly,
Lloyd (2011: 203) claims that –(at)ion possesses a “general action/fact” meaning. She
(2011: 11) also points out that “[i]t seems inevitable that words denoting verbal action may
be used in abstract and generalized senses to refer to the non-specific fact of the action
denoted by the verb base.”
5.2.1.2.2. –ment
This suffix originates from French –ment, which “was added to verbal stems, generally to
denote the instrument, result, or product of an action, later also the action itself” (Jespersen
1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 375), and ultimately derives from Latin –mentum. According to
Jespersen, there were already some Anglo-French loans ending in –ment in the 12 th
century, but this suffix started to be regarded as an English formative only during the latter
part of the 13 th century. It was only in the 16 th century that nominals both from French and
from native roots became abundant. Consider, for instance, acknowledgment, amazement,
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and atonement (Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 375). Jespersen states that the suffix has
been productive since then, particularly in the 19 th and 20 th centuries.
The suffix –ment usually collocates with disyllables with stress on the second syllable,
both of Romance origin, as in commandment, concealment and contentment (Jespersen
1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 376), and of native origin, forming hybrids, such as concernment,
fulfillment and recallment. Furthermore, formations from verbs with the prefixes en–/em–
and be– are also very frequent; thus, enlightenment, endearment, enjoyment and
enbodiment (Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 376).
Concerning the meaning of the suffix, most of the formations in –ment are action
nouns and correspond quite closely to the –ing gerund, but some instances show a passive
meaning (‘being –ed’), for instance, fulfillment, refreshment and contentment (Jespersen
1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 376). Furthermore, some of the –ment formations can be seen as
“[r]esult nouns (e.g. comandement, jugement), [i]nstrumental nouns (e.g. oynement,
ournement), or as proper lexicalizations (e.g. parlement, sacrament, procurement)” in ME
(Dalton-Puffer 1996: 109; for a similar view see also Lloyd 2011: 260).
5.2.1.2.3. –ance
This suffix derives from French –nce, which in turn originates from Latin –ntia. The ME
spelling was generally –aunce. In French, –ance was used as a suffix to form what
Jespersen termed “verbal nexus-words,” that is, action nouns, many of which were
borrowed into English. Instances include annoyance, entrance and nuisance (Jespersen
1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 370). Quite frequently the verb was adopted in English together with
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
its nominal in –ance; for instance, appear: appearance. Later –ance started to be used as
an independent suffix to form nouns of action, as in avoidance and clearance. Over time,
this suffix came to be attached also to Germanic verbs, forming hybrids like abidance,
forbearance, hindrance and riddance (Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 371), the first
attested example being hindrance, dating from the 15 th century.
The preferred meanings for the –ance suffix in ME were those of quality,
instrument and state (Lloyd 2011: 202), and it is now used to form deverbal nouns, having
the usual meanings ‘state, act, fact of Ving’ (Marchand 1969 [1960]: 248). Jespersen,
(1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 371) mentions that formerly there was a tendency to use the forms
ending in –ce and in –cy indiscriminately (e.g. arrogance/arrogancy,
exuberance/exuberancy). However, in some cases a differentiation between these forms
has taken place. Thus, the tendency is to use the variant –ance to denote action, state or
quality, whereas –ancy is preferred to denote state or quality only (e.g. observance refers
to the “action or practice of observing” while observancy is the “quality of being
observant”); –ence and –ency follow a similar pattern of distribution, and hence
consistence refers to the “degree of density in liquids” whereas consistency names the
“quality or state of being consistent” (Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 371).
5.2.1.2.4. –age
The suffix –age comes from French –age, which in turn derives from Latin –aticum, which
“was used for abstract sbs of appurtenance and collectives” (Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol.
VI: 436). In ME, this suffix was used to derive abstract nouns from verbs and nouns. It
was attached not only to Romance bases, but also to native ones. Take, for example, the
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nominal bondage, an Anglo-French formation, whose base bond is Germanic (Dalton-
Puffer 1996: 99).
As regards their semantics, formations whose base is a personal noun usually have the
meaning ‘collectivity of’ or ‘condition, state, rank, office of’, as in the case of servage or
baronage (Marchand 1969 [1960]: 234; see also Lloyd 2011: 203). Regarding deverbal
derivatives, the typical meaning associated with the suffix –age is ‘action of Ving,’ as for
instance in marriage and passage (Dalton-Puffer 1996: 101). Nevertheless, since these two
more general meanings do not cover the greater part of the data, Dalton-Puffer (1996: 101)
proposes to group together the formations ending in –age according to three “referential
fields”:
a. legal terms in the widest sense (many of them denoting payments):
‘charge, fee connected with…’ arrerage ‘debt,’ costage ‘cost,’ heritage,
quartrage ‘charge paid by a person every quarter, 14
truage ‘tribute,’
marriage, servage, bondage, baronage
b. food and drink (some kind of mass/collective terms): companiage,
beuerage, forage, potage
c. travel: passage, veiage ‘voyage’, pilgrimage
14 Cf. OED s.v. quarter n. 2 b. “A fourth part of a year; (formerly esp.) one of the four periods divided by the
recognized quarter days (quarter day n.); (now usually) a period of three months over which financial
transactions and reckonings (as the payment of bills, the calculation of earnings, etc.) are made (...).”
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5.2.1.2.5. –ure
This suffix comes from French –ure, which originates from Latin –ura. In English, the
suffix –ure was already found in ME in many words of French or Latin origin. Consider,
for instance, jointure, pleasure and closure. In EModE, some formations were created in
English from words of Latin origin, such as composure, exposure and vomiture (Jespersen
1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 244). Only in a very few cases is the suffix –ure attached to native
bases, e.g., clefture ‘state of being cleft,’ raisure ‘elevation,’ both being now obsolete
(Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 145). In some French words the suffix –ure came to
replace the original –ir or –or (e.g. pleasir > pleasure; tresor > treasure) (Jespersen 1942
[1909] Vol. VI: 245).
As for its meaning, in Latin, this suffix denoted action or process. Later, it acquired
a new shade of meaning, namely the result of the action, and in some cases “a collective
body” (Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 244).
5.2.1.2.6. –al
In Jespersen (1942 [1909]: 384), the suffix –al is cited as deriving from the Latin forms
–alis, –al, –ales, or –alia. Some authors, such as Dalton-Puffer (1996: 101), consider –al a
marginal suffix which was not used in the formation of deverbal abstract nouns, in view of
the scant evidence in her corpus; her ME data included just six tokens of the types
spousayle and governaile, all of them belonging to subperiod ME3 (1350-1420).
The suffix –al has the meaning ‘the act of Ving’ or ‘the state of being –ed,’ for
instance, denial, refusal, dismissal, survival, removal and renewal, among others
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
(Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 385). Lloyd (2011: 203) gives an attributive meaning to
this suffix, that is, they “generally signify the entity to which they are attributed, e.g.
OFFICIAL (i.e. person in office)” (2011: 172). In many cases formations ending in –al
have a counterpart in –(a)tion. These formations are derivatives from the same root and
almost identical in meaning. They differ in that the derivatives ending in –al, unlike those
in –(a)tion, are considered to be English coinages. Examples include accusal-accusation;
approval-approbation; committal-commission (Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 385).
Nevertheless, there are some pairs in which the –al formation is rare and its meaning is
different from that of the formation in –(a)tion. Take as instances disposal-disposition;
interposal-interposition; proposal-proposition (Jespersen 1942 [1909] Vol. VI: 385).
5.2.2. Identifying nominalizations in the corpora
The nominalizations under analysis in the present study are identified by using the set of
suffixes described in the preceding section, repeated here for convenience: –ing, –(at)ion,
–ment, –ance, –age, –ure and –al. A similar method has been used in previous studies (cf.
Biber 1988; Tyrkkö and Hiltunen 2009). It can be argued that this method leaves out
certain kinds of nominalizations, such as that-clauses (That she comes is nice) and
nominalizations created by conversion (use). However, as previously noted (see Chapter
1), only nominalizations created by suffixation are to be analyzed here.
For the purpose of identifying nominalizations in my data, I searched for all the
words containing the selected suffixes, taking into consideration all possible spelling
variants. WordSmith 3.0 Concordance was used for this purpose. Its use simplifies the
search, since the concordancer provides a list of all the words containing a particular string
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(e.g. ment). However, false hits were also found, which had to be discarded manually. For
instance, in the case of the –ing suffix, not only nominalizations, but also other words
containing the string “ing,” such as thing or king, were initially listed.
5.3. The classification of nominals
This section provides a detailed account of the kind of nominalizations analyzed in the
study, together with a discussion of those forms which have been excluded for practical
reasons. As noted, the analysis is restricted to nominalizations formed by derivation by
means of the suffixes –ing, –(at)ion, –ment, –ance, –age, –ure and –al which refer to
actions or processes, rather than to concrete entities.
5.3.1. Parameters of classification
In order to give an account of the grammar of nominalizations in EModE, I will follow the
parameters proposed by Fanego in her analysis of the gerund in EModE (1996: 196-198),
whereby nominalizations can be classified according to three sets of distinctions:
a. The constituents of the NP: phrases having a nominal as their head may include a
variety of constituents: i) the nominal head occurs on its own (cf. [104]); ii) the nominal is
accompanied only by pre-head dependents, as in (105); iii) the nominal contains post-head
dependents only (cf. [106]); or iv) the NP shows both pre- and post-head modifiers (cf.
[107]):
(104) (...) Others are only the silvers melted into Balls without
vitrification, (E3 1665 Hooke The life and work of Robert Hooke)
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
(105) And indeed, all that I have yet seen, seem to have been rotten
Wood before the petrification was begun; (E3 1665 Hooke The
life and work of Robert Hooke)
(106) and draw from them ij. arch lynes, as you did in the first
conclusion, for making of a threlyke tria~gle. (E1 1551 Record
The path-way to knowledge, containing the first principles of
geometrie)
(107) and boyle them to the consumption of the third part, in an
earthen pot nealled and close couered, so that no ayre go foorth:
(E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the artificial cure of struma)
b. Their function in the superordinate structure. Nominals may act as: i) subjects
(cf. [108]), ii) objects (cf. [109]), iii) predicatives (cf. [110]) or iv) complements of a
preposition (cf. [111]). Furthermore, as Fanego points out, they may also occur absolutely,
that is, “without being formally dependent on a higher matrix” (Fanego 1996: 108), as in
(112) below. Nominalizations occurring absolutely are generally found in chapter
headings, but can also appear as supplements 15 (cf. [113]) and modifiers (cf. [114]).
(108) If Acrimony of humours, boiling of the blood, want of rest and
sleep, accompany Deseases of the Lungs and brest, you may add to
the Emulsions two drams of white Poppy-seed, and as much
Lettice-seed, and change the Syrup of Violets, and Venus-hair into
those of White-poppy and Water-Lillies. (E3 1678 Charas Royal
pharmacopoea)
(109) It is thought vnfit by diuers learned men to blister Childrens heads
with Cantharides, it hath been seene to cause much paine and
pissing of bloud: (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the artificial cure
of struma)
15 The term supplement is used here following Huddleston et al. (2002: 1350 and ff.) for a variety of
elements which occupy a position in linear sequence without being clearly integrated into the syntactic
structure of the sentence. Among such elements are appositive structures in general (a University lecturer,
Dr. Brown), content clauses (The excuse he gave, that the train had been late, seemed satisfactory.) and
interjections (Ah so you were there!), among many others.
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(110) But noble Ipocras sayth, that Surgerie is hande working in mans
body; (E1 1548 Vicary The anatomie of the body of man)
(111) M. Borrough in his discourse of the variation of the Compasse,
defineth the Magneticall Meridian to bee a great Circle, which
passeth through the Zenith and the Pole of the load stone called in
Latine Magnes, (E2 1597 Blundeville A plaine treatise of the first
principles of cosmographie)
(112) The true maner and making of Ladanum. (E2 1602 Clowes
Treatise for the artificial cure of struma)
(113) A Tertian beginneth with rigour like the pricking of Needles, and
endeth with vaporous sweat. (E2 1573 Partridge Treasurie of the
commodious conceits Surgery)
(114) (...) but touchynge general instrumentes, those which are in most
vse and ought to be had in redynes of the Chirurgian are theis:
incision sheares, an incision knife, a flewme, a lance, (...) and all
this serue to cut and enlarge a wounde: (E1 1563 Gale Antidotaire
Surgery)
c. Their internal syntax. This parameter of classification only applies to –ing
nominalizations, due to their complex nature (see Chapter 2). Hence, –ing formations can
be considered as: i) nominal (cf. [115], in which the –ing form turning shows features
typical of nouns, namely, it has the definite article the as pre-head dependent and the PP of
the two Poles of the Zodiaque as post-head dependent), ii) verbal (cf. [116], in which the
head noun making shows verbal features, such as governing NP objects), or iii) mixed
nomino-verbal. Furthermore, within the nomino-verbal constructions, two different
subtypes can be distinguished (see Section 2.3 above): i) POSS-ing constructions, as in
(117), where the –ing nominalization has the possessive its as pre-head dependent and is
postmodified by the adverb freely, and ii) MIX constructions such as (118), in which the
–ing nominalization has verbal properties such as governing an NP object (it), together
with nominal properties such as having the determinate article as pre-head dependent. In
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some cases, however, there are no elements indicating the nature of the –ing
nominalization, or the indicators are ambiguous; such nominalizations will be considered
as structurally ambiguous, as in (119), in which the lack of pre- and post-head dependents
of the head noun measuring prevents us from determining its nature.
(115) and are made by the turning about of the two Poles of the
Zodiaque, which Poles being situated in the Colure of the
Solstices are so farre distant from the Poles of the world, (...) (E2
1597 Blundeville The plaine treatise of the first principles of
geometrie)
(116) And that is a way of making small Globules or Balls of Lead, or
Tin, as small almost as these of Iron or Steel, and that exceeding
easily and quickly, by turning the filings or chips of those Metals
also in perfectly round Globules. (E3 1665 Hooke The life and
work of Robert Hooke)
(117) and then brought the Electric, as son as we could, to settle
notwithstanding its hanging freely at the bottom of the string. (E3
1675-6 Boyle Electricity & magnetism)
(118) but upon the suffering it to suck; it presently fill’d the skin of the
belly, and of the six scolop’d embossments on either side, as full as
it could be stuft; (E3 1665 Hooke The life and work of Robert
Hooke)
(119) but more plainly in my booke of measuring you may see it. (E1
1551 Record The pathvway to knowledge, containing the first
principles of geometrie)
5.3.2. Some problems in the classification of nominalizations
Difficulties may arise when classifying nominalizations according to the constituent
structure of their phrases and, in the case of –ing formations, also regarding their internal
syntax. A full account of the criteria used in the classification of such complex instances is
given below.
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
5.3.2.1. Nominalizations and coordination
In this dissertation, nominals occurring in coordinated structures will be counted
separately, as independent units, for statistical purposes. This applies also to cases of
“unitary coordination”, that is, “those in which the conjoins are so closely linked in
meaning as to be roughly synonymous or repetitive” (Fanego 1996: 112). Consider, for
instance, the following examples from the corpus:
(120) for the conservation and restauration of the health and natural
constitution of mankind as well as all other aereal animals, (E3
1665 Hooke The life and work of Robert Hooke)
(121) (…) I haue read y=t= men in times past did (...) remedies, w=c=
they had experienced & approoued for the curing and healing of
any dangerous malady: (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the
artificiall cure of struma)
Counting coordinated nominals separately makes it necessary to establish different
possibilities for the analysis of their dependents. There are three options:
a. No ellipsis. In such cases, the dependents occurring in the coordinated structure
belong to the nominal they accompany. Thus, in (122) observing has no
dependents, whereas the NP the prosecution and the PP on particulars are the posthead
dependents of the –ing formations reserving and enlarging respectively.
Similarly, in (123) each nominal shows its own dependents. Thus, the –ing form
going has the PossP the Suns as pre-head dependent, whereas coming has the
possessive his as pre-head dependent and both the adverbial againe and the PP to
the Meridian as post-head dependents.
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
(122) (...) I have had opportunity as yet of observing, reserving the
prosecution and enlarging on particulars till a more fit
opportunity; (E3 1665 Hooke The life and work of Robert Hooke)
(123) And the first parte of the night is the space betwixt the Suns going
down and his coming againe to the Meridian, (E2 1597 Blundevile
A plaine treatise of the first principles of cosmographie)
b. The coordinated construction shows ellipsis, but it can be assumed that all the
dependents are shared by all the nominal heads. This is the case with the following
examples:
(124) HOW TO FINDE OUT THE TIME OF THE SUNNES RISING
AND SETTING, AND THEREBY THE LENGTH OF THE
ARTIFICIALL DAY. (E2 1597 Blundevile A plaine treatise of the
first principles of cosmographie)
(125) He also forbad him eating and drinking at vnaccustomed houres:
(E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the artificiall cure of struma)
In (124) the PossP the sunnes is a pre-head dependent of both –ing formations, rising and
setting. Hence, for statistical purposes, both nominals will be analyzed as having pre-head
dependents. (125), in turn, illustrates the use of two –ing nominalizations sharing the same
post-head dependent at unaccustomed hours, even though the temporal adverbial appears
only after the second one.
c. The coordinated construction shows ellipsis and is also “asymmetric,” that is, not
all the dependents are shared by the heads of the construction. This third option is
illustrated in (126)-(129) below:
(126) Nor will any part of this Hypothesis seem strange to him that
considers, First, that either hammering, or filing, or otherwise
violently rubbing of Steel, will presently make it so hot as to be
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
able to burn one fingers. (E3 1665 Hooke The life and work of
Robert Hooke)
(127) (...) I will heere presently set downe as it were a Store-house of
diuers and sundry approoued Chirurgical remedyes, necessary for
the curing and safe healing of the forenamed Strumaeic and
Phlegmaticall sicknesse: (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the
artificiall cure of struma)
(126) and (127) starkly contrast with (124) and (125) above in that not all the dependents
are shared by all the heads. Although the PPs of Steel and of the forenamed (...) sicknesse
can be considered as dependents of each of the nominalizations involved, the adverb
violently in (126) and the adjective safe in (127) can only be regarded as modifiers of the
gerund they precede. Note the difference in meaning between the original constructions in
these two examples and the following rewordings, where the pre-head dependents violently
and safe have been placed before the first nominalization and, thus, refer to all the nominal
heads of the coordinated construction: that either violently hammering, or filing, or
otherwise rubbing of Steel; for the safe curing and healing of the forenamed Strumaeic and
Phlegmaticall sicknesse. Examples (126) and (127) are grouped together with (128) and
(129) as cases in which their head nominalizations do not share all the dependents:
(128) (...) Al thinges that man would knowe, may be knowen by one of
these three thingses: That is to say, by his name, or by his
working, or els by his very being and shewing of his owne
properties (E1 1548 Vicary The anatomie of the bodie of man)
(129) (...) and could not be made more commodiously and
compendiously, for performing both these requisite motions, of
walking and climbing up the hair of a mans head, (E3 1665
Hooke The life and work of Robert Hooke)
However, in the latter examples, this is not due to the position occupied by the modifier in
the NP, as in (126) and (127) above, but rather to the nature of the verbs involved in the
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respective formations. Since be is a copular verb and walk (in the relevant sense) is
intransitive, they cannot take a DO. 16 This explains why the post-head dependents of his
own properties in (128) and the hair of a mans head in (129) belong exclusively to the
nominalizations shewing and climbing up respectively, whose base verbs are transitive and
require a DO as complement.
5.3.2.2. Differences between nominal, verbal and mixed –ing nominals
As pointed out in Chapter 2, the deverbal noun ending in –ing has acquired verbal
characteristics over time. This has led to the distinction between nominal and verbal
gerunds in PDE. However, during the EModE period this distinction had not yet been fully
established and, therefore, mixed forms, characteristic of a transitional stage, are found.
Verbal gerunds are characterized by showing features typical of verbs, such as the
ability to take a subject not marked for the genitive, as in (130a); to take predicative
complements and NP objects, as in (130b) and (130c); to be passivized and to show the
perfect form, as in (130d) and (130e); and to be negated by the particle not, as in (130f)
below. Furthermore, verbal gerunds can be modified by adverbs and adverbial adjuncts
that are not possible with nouns. Thus, while (130g) is perfectly grammatical, (130h) is not
allowed (Fanego 1996: 109):
(130) a. Emma reading the poem
b. I don’t like being ill
16 Although walk up does exist and can be followed by a NP (e.g. walk up the street), the context indicates
that it is being used intransitively in this sentence.
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
c. I hate playing tennis
d. the necessity of being loved
e. of having done it
f. punished for not doing it
g. my quietly leaving
h. *my quietly voice (Fanego 1996: 108-109)
However, the distinction between nominal and verbal gerunds is not always so easy to
draw. Some problematic aspects of this distinction are discussed below.
5.3.2.2.1. –Ing nominals modified by locative and temporal adverbials
Authors such as Tajima (1985a: 95) use adverbial modification as a criterion to identify
the verbal nature of the gerund, claiming that adverbial adjuncts can only appear with
verbs. However, this argument has been partially refuted by Donner (1986: 395), Jack
(1988: 56-58) and Fanego (1996: 109); the latter shows that locative and temporal
adverbials can also appear with nouns in PDE (cf. our earlier instances [71a] and [71b],
quoted from Fanego 1996: 109), as well as in previous stages of the language, such as ME,
as in (71c) (quoted from Jack 1988: 56) (instances repeated here for convenience):
(71) a. the shop on the corner
b. circumstances today
c. his tenantʒ there
Thus, corpus examples such as (131) below, where the nominalization moving is
accompanied by the adverb downwards, may be interpreted as being either nominal or
verbal, and hence they are assigned the label “ambiguous” in the statistical count:
(131) (...) that edge needed not at all ascend, but onely be moved
horizontally, to which way of moving the gravity of the Electric
which the string kept from moving downwards could be but little
or no hindrance. (E3 1675-6 Boyle Electricity & magnetism)
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
By contrast, (110), repeated here for convenience, in which the gerund working takes
the post-head dependent in mans body, has been classified as nominal. This decision was
taken because in this example the noun hand acts as a sort of pre-modifier of the –ing
nominalization (cf. OED s.v. hand-working ‘working with the hands, manual operation’):
(110) But noble Ipocras sayth, that Surgerie is hande working in mans
body; (E1 1548 Vicary The anatomie of the body of man)
5.3.2.2.2. –Ing nominals modified by quantifying and manner adverbials
As Fanego (1996: 110) points out, adverbs of manner and quantification such as frequently
or rarely are incompatible with a nominal interpretation of the gerund both in EModE and
in PDE. Exceptions to this rule are the adverbs once, twice, thrice, often and well, which in
earlier stages of the language were attested as pre-modifiers not only of gerunds but also of
deverbal nouns in general. Constructions such as (132a), (132b) and (132c) from the OED
quotation database exemplify this possibility:
(132) a. the well payment
b. the twice returne
c. hys often comfortes (Fanego 1996: 110)
In this context, the proposal of authors such as Fanego (1996: 110), who categorises these
items as adjectives rather than as adverbs, seems appealing. In my corpus, (133) and (134)
are the only instances containing this kind of modifiers:
(133) for as it is said, the roote of al the Cure is y=e= wel purging of
the body, whereby Nature is the better enabled to expel and
vnburden her selfe of many bad and vnprofitable humours. (E2
1602 Clowes Treatise for the artificiall cure of struma)
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
(134) And this power of approaching the Cushion by vertue of the
operation of its own steams, was so durable in our vigorous piece
of Amber, that by once chafing it, I was able to make it follow the
Cushion no less than ten or eleven times. (E3 1675-6 Boyle
Electricity & magnetism)
Example (133) shows the item well acting as a pre-head constituent of the –ing formation
purging. The kind of structure in which this item occurs may help in disambiguation.
Thus, the definite article the acting as pre-head dependent of the –ing formation, and the
PP of the body acting as its post-head dependent, both point to its nominal nature. Since
nouns are usually modified by adjectives, the decision was taken to classify the item well
as an adjective. However, the item once in (134) has been classified as an adverb, in light
of the nature of the nominalization it modifies. As well as the pre-head modifier once
under discussion, the structure contains a bare NP functioning as its object in its agnate
sentence, which seems to indicate that the –ing formation chafing is verbal in nature.
5.3.2.2.3. Ambiguous pre-head modifiers
Other pre-head modifiers, such as only, right and just, among others, are ambiguous in the
sense that they have the same form when functioning as adjectives and as adverbs. Some
instances from the corpus follow:
(135) Howbeit, hee said also, that his skill was such, that if a man were
wounded at Yorke, bring him the weapon that hurt the Patient, and
he would cure him forsooth by onely dressing of the weapon, and
though he neuer see the Patient. As certain as Sea burnes. (E2
1602 Clowes Treatise for the artificiall cure of struma)
(136) and therefore could not without great perill and danger be safely
taken away, eyther-1 by Launce or Causticke remedies, by reason
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
of their neere knitting together, (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the
artificiall cure of struma)
(137) For if it be lyke the figure of a circle pressed in length, and bothe
endes lyke bygge, then is it called a tunne forme, or barrel forme,
the right making of whiche figures, I will declare hereafter in the
thirde booke. (E1 1551 Record The path-way to knowledge,
containing the first principles of geometrie)
In these and similar cases in the corpus, I followed the criteria described in section
5.3.2.2.2 above for disambiguation. The structures indicate that the gerunds at issue here
have a nominal nature; consider the presence of possessives or the article the as pre-head
dependents in the case of (136) and (137) respectively, and of-phrases as post-head
dependents in (135) and (137). Taking into account that the gerund which these pre- and
post-head dependents are modifying is a nominal one, in these examples only, near and
right have been classified as adjectives in the corpus analysis.
5.3.2.2.4. –Ing nominals of prepositional and phrasal verbs
Gerunds whose base verbs are prepositional or phrasal (e.g. cut out, pluck out, draw back)
are understood as derived directly from the combination of a verb and a preposition or
adverb. This means that the particle of the verb will not be analyzed as an adverbial posthead
constituent. These are some examples from the corpus:
(138) for it stoppeth the flowing matter being applyed vpon the head by
revulsion or drawing back. (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the
artificiall cure of struma)
(139) neyther doth it require any great curiosity, but a decent and
artificiall strong binding, meete or the plucking of them out as it
is said by the rootes. (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the artificiall
cure of struma)
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5. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY
(140) but in the taking of it out, care must be had that the Sand be very
neer cold, (E3 1665 Hooke The life and work of Robert Hooke)
(141) How be it, it is necessary or sufferable ouer curiously to search
and attempt the cutting them out by Incision (…) (E2 1602
Clowes Treatise for the artificiall cure of struma)
(142) (…) we need not trouble our selves to find out what kind of Pores
they are, both-8 in the Flint and Steel, that contain the Atoms of
fire, nor how those Atoms come to be hindred from running all
out, when a dore or passage in their Pores is made by the
concussion: (E3 1665 Hooke The life and work of Robert Hooke)
Thus, for statistical purposes, when there is no evidence of the verbal nature of the gerund
apart from the particle itself, as in (138), the –ing form will be considered as ambiguous
between nominal and verbal interpretations. However, when the gerund phrase contains
other constituents, the categorial nature of the nominal can be inferred from these.
Consider in this sense (139) and (140), which illustrate the use of mixed gerunds. On the
one hand, the articles and the post-head of-phrases are nominal features; on the other, the
particle in end position is a verbal feature. Another example is found in (141), where the
gerund cutting is determined by the article the but its post-head complement is a NP. In
turn, (142) shows a verbal gerund, as it simply contains a NP as post-head constituent.
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6. FINDINGS
6. FINDINGS
This chapter presents the main findings from the corpus study. Section 6.1 gives an
overview of the use of nominalizations in Early Modern scientific English. Emphasis is put
on factors such as the frequency of –ing and Romance nominalizations in the different
subperiods, their structural types as well as their syntactic function. Furthermore, the
productivity of the different suffixes employed is also analyzed. Section 6.2 describes how
Romance nominalizations became part of the English language, paying special attention to
the various factors that might have fostered their use in EModE. Section 6.3 focuses on the
differences in use and origin of the nominalizations employed in various categories of
medical writing. Finally, Section 6.4 summarizes the main findings.
6.1. Use and distribution of nominalizations in Early Modern scientific English
This section offers an overview of how nominalizations were used during the EModE
period. Aspects such as their frequency in texts, the kinds of complements they can take
and the syntactic position they usually occupy are analyzed in what follows.
6.1.1. Frequency of nominalizations in the EModE period
As is well-known, nominalizations are one of the characteristics of scientific English.
Therefore, a priori, their frequency is expected to be high in scientific texts. If attention is
paid to examples (143) and (144) below, we see that the number of action nouns, both of
native and Romance origin, is very high. They are used to describe the different steps
followed in experiments, as in the case of Boyle’s text in (144), as well as the details of the
remedies used in medical texts (cf. [145]).
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6. FINDINGS
(144) Some years after the making the Experiments about the
Production of Electricity, having a desire to try, whether in the
Attractions made by Amber, the motions excited by the air had a
considerable Interest, or whether the Effect were not due rather to
the Emission and Retraction of Effluvia, which being of a viscous
nature may consist of Particles either branch’d or hookt, or
otherwise fit for some kind of Cohesion, and capable of being
stretch’d, and of shrinking again, as Leather Thongs are : To
examine this, I say, I thought the fittest way, if $’t $were
{TEXT:’twere} practicable, would be, to try, whether Amber would
draw a light Body in a Glass whence the air was pumpt out. (E3
1675-6 Boyle Electricity & magnetism)
(145) Also, it is auailable to vse Frictions, Rubbings, Borings, and
Blisterings is much praised after purgings, for it stoppeth the
flowing matter being applyed vpon the head by revulsion or
drawing back, & causeth euacuation. (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise
for the artificall cure of struma)
The figures for the occurrences of nominalizations in the corpus in the three
subperiods under analysis are shown in Table 8. It must be noted that frequencies have
been normalized following Biber’s (1988: 14) proposal for a “normalised frequency of a
feature,” as the data analyzed in the different periods differ in size (see Chapter 5). As
Biber notes, “raw frequency counts cannot be used for comparison across texts when they
are not at all of the same length,” since in this case longer texts would tend to have higher
frequencies simply because a given feature has more opportunities to occur in them. Using
Biber’s procedure and comparing the frequency per 100,000 words or any multiple of 10 –
depending on the frequency of the feature under investigation– this possible bias is
eliminated. In the present study, given that nominalizations are considered relatively
frequent constructions, normalized frequencies are computed by 10,000 words.
Normalized frequencies are achieved by dividing absolute frequencies between the total
number of words of each category; the total is then multiplied by 10,000. Hence, for
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6. FINDINGS
instance, the normalized frequency of nominalizations in the whole corpus is:
(2,844:223,605) x 10,000 = 127.2.
Table 8. Overall figures for nominalizations, per corpus and subperiod (normalized
frequencies per 10,000 words in brackets)
E1
E2
E3 TOTAL
(1500-1570) (1570-1640) (1640-1710)
PPCEME 166 (61.4) 275 (95.7) 306 (130.6) 747 (94.3)
EMEMT 513 (107) 648 (134.7) 936 (193.5) 2,097 (145.2)
TOTAL 679 (90.5) 923 (120.1) 1242 (173) 2,844 (127.2)
The data in Table 8 show that the amount of nominalizations varies enormously in
the two corpora analyzed. Whereas the normalized frequency of nominalizations in
PPCEME is 94.3, EMEMT shows a much higher normalized frequency (145.2). This
disparity of figures may be explained by the fact that, as said in Chapter 4, early scientific
writing was more heterogeneous than it is today. However, there seems to be a reason that
goes beyond that. As already noted, PPCEME contains both medical texts and texts from
natural sciences whereas EMEMT is composed only by medical texts. This difference in
the nature of texts may have led to differences in the frequency of the nominalizations
employed. Data from Table 9 confirms this hypothesis since medical texts show a higher
normalized frequency across the EModE period than texts from natural sciences (105.5 vs.
88.2, respectively). Note that these frequencies are somehow misleading due to the lack of
data for medical texts in E3, a subperiod characterized by presenting the highest amount of
nominalizations. Thus, it may be very well expected that these texts would have followed
the trend seen in previous subperiods, with nominalizations in medical texts doubling the
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6. FINDINGS
amount of those appearing in natural science texts, which would imply a bigger difference
between the normalized frequencies of the total for natural sciences and medical texts.
Table 9. Overall figures for nominalizations in PPCEME, per type of text and subperiod
(normalized frequencies per 10,000 words in brackets)
E1
E2
E3 TOTAL
(1500-1570) (1570-1640) (1640-1710)
Natural sc. 49 (35.1) 96 (69.7) 306 (129.4) 451 (88.2)
Medical texts 117 (89.6) 179 (119.5) - 296 (105.5)
TOTAL 166 (61.4) 275 (95.7) 306 (129.4) 747 (94.3)
What is undeniably confirmed by the data from both corpora (see Table 8 above) is
that nominalizations tend to increase in frequency in the course of time. Thus, the number
of nominalizations in E1 (normalized frequency: 90.5) almost doubles in E3 (normalized
frequency: 173). The increase is even more noticeable if we consider Romance
nominalizations (see Table 10), which in E3 show a normalized frequency of occurrence
three times higher than in E1 (101.4 vs. 36.7).
Table 10. Overall figures for –ing and Romance nominalizations from both corpora, per
subperiod (normalized frequencies per 10,000 words in brackets)
E1
E2
E3 TOTAL
(1500-1570) (1570-1640) (1640-1710)
–ing nominals 404 (53.9) 476 (61.9) 514 (71.6) 1,394 (62.3)
Romance nom. 275 (36.7) 447 (58.2) 728 (101.4) 1,450 (64.8)
TOTAL 679 (90.5) 923 (120.1) 1242 (173) 2,844 (127.2)
A possible explanation for this fact may be that scientific English was starting to develop.
It is usually said that the time when scientific English properly emerged was the late
seventeenth century, when Newton used the vernacular language instead of Latin to
publish his works (Banks 2008: 23). However, many other authors had been using English
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6. FINDINGS
in their writings since the time of Chaucer or even earlier, as medical texts such as remedy
books were originally written in English already in OE (see Section 4.5.2.3). However, the
first authors who used English in their scientific writings were aware of the lack of
eloquence of the vernacular, and tried to adapt it in order to make it suitable for the
transmission of scientific knowledge. One of their main strategies was the use of Romance
words in their texts. Latin was the lingua franca used in science and French the language
spoken by the upper classes since the Norman Conquest in 1066 (see Section 6.2 for
further details). Thus, the prestigious status of these two languages favoured the extensive
acquisition of nominalizations from these languages. Take, for instance, the passage
below.
(145) The deflux of an humor from the braine is called a rheume, which
is the mother of many diseases. For somtimes it taketh course to
the eyes, and thereof commeth a dropping and inflammation of
the eyes, and a dimnesse and losse of sight; (...) sometimes to the
mouth, and causeth great expuition, and spitting, and the falling of
the uvula, and toothach; (...) somtimes to the lungs, and causeth
exulceration or putrifaction thereof, or some great obstruction,
which bringeth a difficulty of breathing and strangulation;
sometimes it taketh course to the stomach, and causeth lack of
appetite and ill digestion; (...) or in the conducts that convey the
power of hearing unto the eares, and there causeth a dulnesse of
hearing or deafnesse; or in the conducts that convey the power of
smelling to the nose, and cause either a lack or losse of swelling;
(...) (E2 1633 Holland Gutta podagrica Academic)
Example (145) shows a high number of Romance nominalizations such as inflammation,
expuition, exulceration, putrifaction, strangulation and (ill) digestion, which name
different ailments caused by rheumatism. These Romance formations coexist with native
formations such as dropping, spitting, breathing, hearing, smelling and swelling.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that –ing formations, as Romance nominalizations, also
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6. FINDINGS
increase in number, although their frequency remains more constant in the data analyzed in
this study (53.9 in E1 to 71.6 in E3). These results are in line with those obtained by
Donner (1986), who, in his analysis of the –ing nominalizations in the Middle English
Dictionary (volumes A to O), showed that the number of gerunds in the fifteenth century
doubled that of the fourteenth century. Donner attributes this rise in the use of gerunds to
“their utility as a ready means of deriving a noun from any verb” (Donner 1986: 398). This
trend is also confirmed by Fanego (1996), who studies the gerund in EModE scientific
texts from the Helsinki Corpus. Her data show an even sharper increase in the frequency of
gerunds (34.9 in E1, 67.5 in E2 and 72.7 in E3).
6.1.2. Distribution of nominalizations according to the type of phrase
It must be noted, however, that the increase in the number of nominalizations does not
apply to all kinds of nominalizations in the same manner. Tables 11 (for –ing
nominalizations) and 12 (for Romance nominalizations) show the frequency of both –ing
and Romance formations, taking into account the structure of the phrases in question.
170

6. FINDINGS
Table 11. Overall figures for structural types of –ing nominalizations (absolute and
normalized figures per 10,000 words) (N = –ing formations of nominal nature; V = verbal
–ing nominalizations; M = mixed nomino-verbal; A = ambiguous nominalizations)
E1 E2 E3
TOTAL
(1500-1570) (1570-1640) (1640-1710)
N 7 (0.9) 13 (1.7) 8 (1.1) 28 (1.2)
V 1 (0.1) 8 (1.1) 9 (0.4)
No Dep.
M
A 81 (10.8) 78 (10.1) 95 (13.2) 254 (11.3)
Pre-Head
Dep.
Post-Head
Dep.
Pre- &
Post-
Head Dep.
N 70 (9.3) 88 (11.4) 35 (4.9) 193 (8.6)
V 1 (0.1) 1 (0.1) 2 (0.1)
M
A 2 (0.3) 1 (0.1) 3 (0.1)
N 46 (6.1) 62 (8.1) 47 (6.5) 155 (6.9)
V 77 (10.3) 93 (12.1) 188 (26.2) 358 (16)
M
A 16 (2.1) 19 (2.5) 27 (3.8) 62 (2.8)
N 99 (13.2) 119 (15.5) 81 (11.3) 299 (13.4)
V 3 (0.4) 7 (1) 10 (0.4)
M 4 (0.5) 1 (0.1) 16 (2.2) 21 (0.9)
A
TOTAL 404 (53.8) 476 (61.9) 514 (71.6) 1,394 (62.3)
The data indicate that nominal –ing formations have a tendency to decrease in any type of
phrase throughout the EModE period, whereas there is an increase in verbal –ing
nominalizations, especially those having just post-head dependents, as in (147) below, in
which the verbal –ing formation bringing is followed by the object NP the Lips of the
Wound as well as by the manner adverbial exactly together.
(146) The second Intention is performed by bringing the Lips of the
Wound exactly [/11./] together. (E3 1676 Wiseman Of wounds
Surgery)
Thus, although nominal –ing formations having pre-head dependents, as in (147), and both
pre- and post-head dependents, as in (148), are quite frequent in E1 (showing a normalized
171

6. FINDINGS
frequency of 9.3 and 13.2 respectively), their frequency decreases in E3, especially in
those nominalizations having only pre-head dependents (normalized frequencies of 4.9 and
11.3, respectively).
(148) This is a necessarie member to al the body; for if it fayle in his
working, al the members of the body shal corrupte. (E1 1548
Vicary The anatomie of the bodie of man)
(149) and are made by the turning about of the two Poles of the
Zodiaque, [...] (E2 1597 Blundevile A plaine treatise of the first
principles of cosmographie)
Mixed formations such as those in (149) and (150) below are marginal in my data
(showing a normalized frequency of 2.2 in E3). Thus, in my data the level of hybridization
of –ing nominals having both pre- and post-head dependents is not as high as in Fanego’s
(1996) study, where hybrid formations represented half of the –ing nominalizations having
both pre- and post-head dependents during the 2 nd half of the 17 th century (see Section 2.3
above for further details).
(149) Some years after the making the Experiments about the
Production of Electricity, having a desire to try, whether in the
Attractions made by Amber, the motions excited by the air had a
considerable Interest, or whether the Effect were not due rather to
the Emission and Retraction of Effluvia, (...)(E3 1675-6 Boyle
Electricity & magnetism)
(150) But do this with moderation, lest you break some notable Vessels,
and a Flux of bloud or some ill Accident befall in your extracting
it. (E3 1676 Wiseman Of wounds Surgery)
However, the findings in Table 11 show a different tendency for verbal –ing
nominalizations. As was mentioned above, they are especially frequent in phrases having
only post-head constituents, reaching a normalized frequency of 26.2 in E3 (see examples
[151] and [152] below):
172

6. FINDINGS
(151) And that is a way of making small Globules or Balls of Lead, or
Tin, as small almost as these of Iron or Steel, and that exceeding
easily and quickly, by turning the filings or chips of those Metals
also into perfectly round Globules. (E3 1665 Hooke The life and
work of Robert Hooke)
(152) for if the fire be too hot, many of these filings will joyn and run
together; whereas if the heat be proportioned, upon washing the
lime-dust in fair Water, […] (E3 1665 Hooke The life and work
of Robert Hooke)
This pattern greatly resembles that of a VP followed by an object. This is not at all
surprising because, as pointed out in Section 2.1, one of the verbal features the gerund has
acquired over time is its capacity to govern an object. As is clear from the data in Table 11,
the increase in the amount of verbal –ing forms runs parallel to the decrease of nominal
–ing formations. This fact points to the possible specialization undergone by the suffix
–ing to be used only in verbal formations.
As Table 12 reflects, Romance nominalizations behave quite differently to those
formed by the native suffix –ing. Their frequency increases in every type of phrase, their
increase being sharper when showing only pre-head dependents, having a normalized
frequency of 30.5 in E3, in contrast to 7.9 in E1. However, the kind of construction
preferred by Romance nominalizations is that having both pre- and post-head dependents,
with a normalized frequency of 36.5 in E3.
173

6. FINDINGS
Table 12. Overall figures for structural types of Romance nominalizations
E1
E2
E3
(1500-1570) (1570-1640) (1640-1710)
TOTAL
No Dep. 81 (10.8) 136 (17.7) 190 (26.5) 407 (18.2)
Pre-Head 59 (7.9) 114 (14.8) 219 (30.5) 392 (17.5)
Dep.
Post-Head 37 (4.9) 61 (7.9) 57 (7.9) 155 (6.9)
Dep.
Pre- & Post- 98 (13.1) 136 (17.7) 262 (36.5) 496 (22.2)
Head Dep.
TOTAL 275 (36.7) 447 (58.2) 728 (101.4) 1,450 (64.8)
Another interesting result is the low frequency of Romance nominalizations followed
just by post-head dependents, as in (153) below:
(153) for upon examination with my Microscope, I have found that the
pith of an Elder, or almost any other Tree, the inner pulp or pith of
the Cany hollow stalks of several other Vegetables: […] (E3 1665
Hooke The life and work of Robert Hooke)
Although example (153) resembles examples (151)-(152) in that the nominalization is
modified by a post-head dependent, it differs from them in that the nominal is not followed
by an NP but by a PP. Since Romance nominalizations are not verbal in nature, they
cannot take bare NPs as their post-head dependents.
To summarize, it seems that the tendency for –ing nominalizations is to specialize into
formations of a verbal nature. The gap created by the increasingly smaller number of
nominal –ing formations is filled by the borrowing of Romance nominalizations, as
evidenced by the sharp increase in Romance nominalizations throughout the EModE
period.
174

6. FINDINGS
6.1.2.1. Pre-head dependents in nominalizations
The pre-head dependents of nominalizations have been classified distinguishing between
determiners (cf. [154]), possessives (cf. [155]), adjectives, which include adjectives proper
(cf. [156a]) as well as quantifiers (cf. [156b]), adverbs (cf. [157]), PossPs (cf. [158]),
relatives (cf. [159]), nouns (cf. [160]) and OTHER, which most frequently include
negative particles (cf. [161a]) and ambiguous modifiers which can be either adjectives or
adverbs (cf. [161b]).
(154) Mixtures are also sometimes made of a more thick consistency,
not much unlike that of ordinary Opiates, which is for the
accommodation of such Patients, as cannot take Remedies in
Drink. (E3 1678 Charas Royal pharmacopoea Remedy)
(155) You must remember to cleanse the Wound of its clotted Bloud, if
you can: but however go on with your work, that Bloud will find
its passage out. (E3 1676 Wiseman Of wounds Surgery)
(156) a. In Simple Wounds the Chirugeon is to afford his assistence five
mammer of ways; (...) The first is, in careful and diligent taking
away all such extraneous bodies as by their interposition may
hinder the true Agglutination of the disjoyned Parts, (...) (E3
1676 Wiseman Of wounds Surgery)
b. The Flowers of the Water-Lilly endure as much boyling as the
Herbs. (E3 1678 Charas Royal pharmacopoea Remedy)
(157) (...) for being compos’d of powerful Medicines, they operate in
less quantity, and work those effects by repetition, which could
hardly be done at once taking. (E3 1678 Charas Royal
pharmacopoea Remedy)
(158) Cantharides and Psillie: by reason the matter of these things
through natures working groweth more particular, & is not
stored with such varietie (as I may so call them) of potentiall
natures: (E2 1586 Bright Treatise of melancholy Academic)
(159) So I leave it to every man’s Judgment, which Method is most to
be confided in, either that where scarce one is ten miscarries, as
175

6. FINDINGS
in mine; or the other, where not one in ten recovers, as in the
common Methods of the Chirurgeons. (E3 1698 Colbatch Novum
lumen chirurgicum Surgery)
(160) Betayne shalbe gahered principally in La~mas Monthe with the
seede and the roots, (...) and it muste be gathered afore Son
risyng. (E2 1573 Partridge Treasurie of commodious conceits
Surgery)
(161) a. Take awaye the causes we maye, in damnyng diches, auoidynge
cario~s, (...) not openynge or sturrynge euill bethynge places,
landynge muddy and rotte~n groundes, (...) (E1 1552 Cauius
Against sweatyng sicknesse Academic)
b. Then for the better performance thereof, without further
discoursing, I will heere presently set downe as it were a Storehouse
of diuers and sundry approoued Chirurgicall remedyes,
necesary for the curing and safe healing of the forenamed
Strumaei (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the artificiall cure os
struma)
Pre-head dependents can appear in isolation or combined among themselves, as in
(162) and (163) below.
(162) For what thinges so euer be hot and moyst and haue a difficell
transpiration, these quicklye putrifye, wherefore thys kynde of
Feuer chaunceth not to leane persons, (...) (E1 1566 Jones Dial
for all agves Academic)
(163) For my own satisfaction, and the good of Mankind, I took into
consideration, whether their Methods were agreeable to Reason,
and the Subject upon which they wrought. (E3 1698 Colbatch
Novum lumen chirurgicum Surgery)
As Figure 1 shows, the various types of –ing nominals behave quite differently
according to the kind of pre-head dependents they prefer. Whereas nominal –ing
formations are usually preceded by determiners, possessives, adjectives or a combination
of determiner and adjective or possessive and adjective, verbal –ing formations rarely have
pre-head dependents. This is in line with the findings in Table 11 above, which show that
176

6. FINDINGS
verbal –ing formations overwhelmingly have only post-head dependents. The few pre-head
dependents of verbal –ing nominalizations are mainly adverbs.
Figure 1. Pre-head dependents of –ing nominalizations
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
As Figure 2 reflects, Romance nominalizations take mainly the same pre-head
dependents as nominal –ing formations. Determiners are thus the preferred dependents for
these nominalizations. Adjectives and, to a lesser extent, possessives are also frequent. The
other kinds of pre-head dependents can be considered marginal.
177

6. FINDINGS
Figure 2. Pre-head dependents of Romance nominalizations
6.1.2.2. Post-head dependents in nominalizations
An aspect worth considering in the syntactic patterning of nominalizations is the nature of
their post-head dependents. Figures 3 and 4 show the distribution of these dependents in
native and Romance nominalizations. These dependents have been classified into nine
different categories: a) of-PP identified semantically with the subject of the nominalization
(of-PP[subject]) (cf. [164]); b) of-PP identified semantically with the object of the
nominalization (of-PP[object]) (cf. [165]); c) NP identified with the object of the
nominalization (NP) (cf. [166]); d) by-phrases (cf. [167]); e) locative phrases (cf. [168]); f)
manner phrases (cf. [169]); g) temporal phrases (cf. [170]); h) relative clauses (cf. [171]);
and i) other complements (OTHER) (cf. [172]), including prepositional complements
different from those mentioned above and other adverbial phrases.
178

6. FINDINGS
(164) M.Borrough in his discourse of the variation of the Compasse,
defineth the Magneticall Meridian to bee a great Circle, which
passeth through the Zenit and the Pole of the load stone called in
Latine Magnes, (E2 1597 Blundevile A plaine Treatise of the first
principles of Cosmographie)
(165) To conclude, we see by this Instance, how much Experiments may
conduce to the regulating of Philosophical notions. (E3 1665
Hooke The life and work of Robert Hooke)
(166) now in seeking this quotient amongst the Sines, I $can $not
{TEXT: cannot} finde that iust number, (E2 1597 Blundevile A
plaine Treatise of the first principles of Cosmographie)
(167) Such was the wounding and killing of Abel, by his brother Cain,
by reason of emulation. (E3 1650 Read Workes of that famous
physitian Surgery)
(168) and leaue not seeking amongst the squares of the Sines, vntil you
haue found out the iust number of the quotient if it be there. (E2
1597 Blundevile A plaine Treatise of the first principles of
Cosmographie)
(169) When opportunity and time will serue, frictions with a rough
linnen cloth are very good, which are to be performed thus: (...)
(E2 1616 Bailey Preseruation of eie-sight Academic)
(170) many having fallen into Consumptions only by smelling the breath
or spittle of Consumptives, others by drinking after them; (...) (E3
1666 Harvey Morbus anglicus Academic)
(171) yet making the secretions more freely, there may be a quantity
evacuated equal to these steams, by the secretions that [^p.3^] are
now begun: (E3 1697 Cockburn Continuation of the account of
distempers Academic)
(172) And for mollifying in children is approoued this remedy following.
(E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the artificiall cure of struma)
As is the case with pre-head dependents, post-head dependents can also combine
among themselves. Take, for instance, examples (173) and (174) below. Example (173)
179

6. FINDINGS
combines two NPs identified semantically with the indirect object (IO) and DO,
respectively. Example (174) combines an NP with a PP (OTHER).
(173) I could scarce ever cure any of them without allowing them Wine;
and thereby their Spirits were kept up, and I had the liberty to
bleed them as I thought fit. (E3 1676 Wiseman Of wounds Surgery)
(174) Of Costus both sorts, being roots coming [^p.8^] from beyond sea,
hot and dry, break wind, being boild in oyle it is held to help the
gout by anointing the greived place with it. (E3 1652 Culpeper
London dispensatory Remedy)
At this point, it is necessary to distinguish again between verbal and nominal –ing
nominalizations since, as mentioned above, the latter cannot be followed by an NP, in
contrast to the former. Results are given in Figure 3 below.
Figure 3. Post-head dependents of –ing nominalizations according to their category
180

6. FINDINGS
As shown in the figure, nominal –ing formations most frequently appear followed by of-
PPs, especially those which are semantically identified with the object, whereas verbal
–ing nominalizations prefer a following NP.
In contrast, Romance nominalizations follow a clearly different trend from verbal
–ing nominals. They are overwhelmingly followed by of-PPs, especially those that are
semantically identified with the object. Of-PP[subject]s are also quite frequent, the
remaining post-head dependents being marginal.
Figure 4. Post-head dependents of Romance nominalizations according to their category
In short, both nominal –ing formations and Romance nominalizations behave quite
similarly: both overwhelmingly prefer of-PPs, whereas verbal –ing formations have NPs as
their preferred post-head dependents. What is surprising is that post-head dependents such
as by-phrases, which are profusely dealt with in the literature, occupy no relevant place in
real data in both –ing and Romance nominalizations, at least in this period.
181

6. FINDINGS
6.1.3. Distribution of nominalizations according to their syntactic function
As pointed out in Section 5.3.1, nominalizations can fulfil different syntactic functions,
namely, subject, object, predicative and complement of a preposition. Furthermore, they
may appear in absolute position, that is, not belonging to a superordinate structure, and
also as supplements and modifiers. As seen in Section 4.1, nominalizations, as instances of
grammatical metaphor, are quite useful in scientific writing. It is well-known that scientists
usually talk about the relation between processes in their writings; according to the
relevant literature, these processes are encoded in the clause as NPs, and usually, they are
situated one at the beginning and one at the end, the verb being the nexus which expresses
the relation between the two. A priori, judging from what has just been said, one might
expect nominalizations to appear mainly as subjects (cf. [175] and [176]), predicatives (cf.
[177] and [178]), and even as objects (cf. [179]), as in the instances below:
(175) the change and corruption of substance causeth not a disease,
but the destruction of the part, but a corrupt thing neither suffers a
disease nor health. (E3 1662 Sennert Sixth book of practical
physick Academic)
(176) But in these whych are hurt by qualitye, the curation of the
diseases be not only wrought by con~trary qualities, but also they
consyste of prouision altogether. (E1 1566 Jones Dial for all agves
Academic)
(177) Secondly it is to bee noted that there be two manners of
regeneration. One is very regeneration, which is very reformation
of the member in the selfe same substaunce, forme, qualytie: (...)
(E2 1579 Chauliac Qvydos qvestions Surgery)
(178) The worke of the stomake is dysgestyon/ for it hath y=e= lyuer on
the ryghte syde/ warnynge her selfe w=t= the lo~bys or lymmes/
(...) (E1 1525 Braunschweig Handy warke of surgeri Surgery)
182

6. FINDINGS
(179) Lastly, it implyes a diminution of the body, happening by reason
of some fault in the Excretive (expelling) faculty of the parts,
excerning or evacuating more than necessary. (E3 1666 Harvey
Morbus anglicus Academic)
When facing real data (see Figures 5 and 6), however, we see that –ing formations and
Romance nominalizations are rarely used in either subject or object position. The data
show that their percentage as subjects reaches 6% for –ing nominalizations and 13% for
Romance ones. –Ing formations in object position show a slightly higher frequency (14%),
but Romance nominalizations are more frequently used in this function, with a percentage
of 20%. As for nominalizations used predicatively, they are quite rare in both types of
formations, especially –ing nominalizations, with only 1% of instances found in this
function (6% in Romance formations).
Figure 5. Frequency of –ing nominals according to syntactic function
183

6. FINDINGS
Figure 6. Frequency of Romance nominalizations according to syntactic function
A possible reason for the lower use of –ing nominalizations functioning as subjects,
objects and predicatives if compared to Romance nominalizations is the fact that most –ing
nominalizations found in my data have only post-head dependents. As Fanego (2006,
2007) has pointed out, verbal –ing nominalizations having only post-head dependents
became available as subjects, objects and predicatives only in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, except for a few scattered earlier instances. In other words, verbal
–ing formations are rarely used in those positions until the middle of the period under
analysis here, and thus are rarely recorded in my data.
However, the most powerful reason for the lower frequency of nominalizations in the
syntactic positions mentioned above is that both –ing formations and Romance
nominalizations appear overwhelmingly as complements of a preposition (997 of all –ing
nominalizations [72% of the total]; and 814 of all Romance nominalizations [56% of the
total]) (see Figures 5 and 6 above). If verbal –ing formations are considered in isolation,
their preference for being used as obliques is much stronger (363 verbal formations [98.6%
of the total]). Ultimately, as Houston (1989: 176) and Fanego (1996) note, the frequency
184

6. FINDINGS
with which the gerund was used after prepositions since ME times is a consequence of the
decay of the OE inflectional system, and the capacity for the gerund to be preceded by
prepositions, unlike the infinitive.
This preference for all nominalizations to appear as complements of a preposition may
explain their frequent use in scientific writing. Scientific texts are known for their lexical
density, that is, a high number of NPs, some of them quite complex. Nominalizations are
known for their capacity to encapsulate information. As Koptjevskaja-Tamm (1993: 266)
claims, “the complexity of scientific discourse, reflecting the complexity of interrelated
factors in scientific thought, favours nominalizations and other means of maximizing the
amount of information in texts of comparable length.” In this way, nominalizations in
oblique position can be useful to explain the manner in which a particular process should
be done, as in (180), (181) and (182) below:
(180) this is an excellent syrup, for either by adding or deminishing
Simples here unto, according to the Infirmities and nature thereof
it may serve for any grosse matter in any cold distemper. (E2 1639
Wood Alphabetical book Remedy)
(181) How is it possible, without bringing the Wound to Suppuration, to
cause a discharge of extraneous Bodies, as pieces of Clothes,
Splinters of Bones, &c. which for the most part are lodg’d in
Gunshot Wounds? (E3 1698 Colbatch Novum lumen chirurgicum
Surgery)
(182) For the right performance of which task, I must first gieve a
short account of Nutrition, without which my present Undertaking
will be altogether mamed and imperfect. (E3 1698 Colbatch
Novum lumen chirurgicum Surgery)
Thus, in (180) an explanation of how to make syrup is offered. The nominalizations
adding and deminishing are helpful tools here to present the steps that need to be followed
to reach the final aim, namely, the syrup. In (181) someone asks about the way to remove
185

6. FINDINGS
alien bodies from wounds avoiding suppuration. Finally, (182) speaks of the necessity of
giving an account of nutrition before going into the next step, which is represented here by
the right performance of which task.
At the same time, nominalizations used as complements of a preposition greatly
increase the lexical density of a particular text. Thus, (183) below is the perfect instance of
the power of encapsulation the English language has. In the NP some noble Theorems
about the great and different effects of bleeding, that depend entirely upon the infinitely
useful demonstration of the circulation of the Blood, that crowd into my thoughts, the
nucleus, that is, the noun Theorems, has a determiner and an adjective as their pre-head
dependents, and a PP as well as a relative clause (that crowd into my thoughts) as their
post-head dependents. The PP that functions as the post-head dependent of the noun
Theorems also contains an NP that shows both pre-head (the determiner the and the
adjectives great and different) and post-head dependents (of-PP which also contains a
relative clause). Within this very complex NP, there are three action nominalizations
(bleeding, demonstration and circulation). All of them act as complements of a
preposition, and the PP they belong to in turn modifies the preceding NP, giving more
information on the processes mentioned by the author.
(183) I must confess I can hardly forbear running out into a long
digression concerning some noble Theorems about the great
and different effects of bleeding, that depend entirely upon the
infinitely useful demonstration of the circulation of the Blood,
that crowd into my thoughts; (E3 1697 Cockburn Continuation
of the account of distempers Academic)
In the light of these data, all types of nominalizations behave quite uniformly
syntactically speaking. It is clear that nominalizations are mainly used obliquely, that is, as
186

6. FINDINGS
complements of a preposition, despite the individual differences in the percentages of
Romance, verbal and nominal –ing nominalizations. This syntactic preference makes them
valuable tools for scientific writing as they are powerful instruments of information
agglutination. The next most common options are object and subject uses, again for all
kinds of nominalization.
6.1.4. Productivity of the nominalizing suffixes
Defining productivity has never been easy since the phenomenon is considered a mixture
of different factors, including frequency, analyzability, transparency, creativity and
lexicalization, among others (Dalton-Puffer 1996: 215-220). In order to establish the
productivity of the suffixes analyzed in this study, both their frequency and transparency
have been taken into account.
Tables 13 and 14 reflect the frequency of the different suffixes; Table 13 also takes
into account whether the resulting nominalizations are hybrids or not. A hybrid is here
understood as in Miller’s 1997 article, that is, as a nominalization whose base and suffix
have a different origin. Take, for instance, analyzing, its base being Romance and its suffix
Germanic. The native –ing is the most frequent suffix in the nominalizations found in the
corpus throughout the EModE period. It is used in native nominalizations, that is, those
having a Germanic base (i.e. stirring, working, seeking) as well as with non-Germanic
bases. The most frequent non-Germanic bases are Romance, bringing about
nominalizations such as crossing or evaporating, but there are some instances of
nominalizations formed from bases originally adapted from Old Norse, e.g. mistaking (ON
mistaka) or raising (ON reisa). This means that the –ing suffix has transparency in the
187

6. FINDINGS
sense that speakers easily recognize it as a means of creating nominalizations even from
foreign bases. On the whole, it seems that in EModE this suffix is highly productive, even
though its frequency diminishes from 59.3% in E1 to 41.4% in E3.
Table 13. Use of nominalizing suffixes along the chronological dimension
E1 (1500-1570) E2 (1570-1640) E3 (1640-1710)
nonhybrihybrihybrid
hybrid non-
hybrid non-
hybrid
–ing 281
(69.6%)
123
(30.4%)
300
(63%)
176
(37%)
274
(53.3%)
240
(46.7%)
Total: 404 (59.4%) Total: 476 (51.6%) Total: 514 (41.4%)
–(at)ion 227 - 376 - 635 -
(100%)
(100%)
(100%)
Total: 227 (33.4%) Total: 376 (40.7%) Total: 635 (51.1%)
–ment 14
(100%)
23
(100%)
- 26
(96.3%)
1
(3.7%)
Total: 12 (1.8%) Total: 23 (2.5%) Total: 27 (2.2%)
–ance 23 2 31 - 33 -
(92%) (8%) (100%)
(100%)
Total: 25 (3.7%) Total: 31 (3.3%) Total: 33 (2.6%)
–age 3
(60%)
2
(40%)
6
(100%)
- 9
(90%)
1
(10%)
Total: 5 (0.7%) Total: 6 (0.6%) Total: 10 (0.8%)
–ure 6 - 11 - 23 -
(100%)
(100%)
(100%)
Total: 6 (0.9%) Total: 11 (1.2%) Total: 23 (1.8%)
–al - - - - - -
Overall, the data show that there is an increase in the frequency of Romance suffixes
from E1 to E3 (40.6% to 58.6%). The most frequent Romance suffix in the corpus is
–(at)ion, whose frequency increases from 33.4% in E1 to 51.1% in E3. These data are in
line with Cowie’s (2000) overview of nominalizations in the history of English, which
reveals the high productivity of –(at)ion in the coining of action nominalizations in the
188

6. FINDINGS
scientific and medical registers. 17 The frequency of the other suffixes is much lower, –ance
being the next most common Romance suffix; its frequency is only 3.7% in E1, and
decreases even to 2.6% in E3. The frequency of –ment is 2% in E1 and slightly higher
(2.2%) in E3. The suffix –ure has a frequency of only 0.9% in E1, increasing slightly in E3
(1.8%). –Age shows low frequencies both in E1 (0.7%) and E3 (0.8%). There is no
evidence for action nouns in –al in the corpora.
The data in Table 14 show that –ing formations are the most frequent both in terms
of type and of token frequency. Having the highest token frequency implies that –ing
formations are the most common during the period. Furthermore, they also have the
highest type frequency, which means that they are attached to the widest range of bases.
Table 14. Type and token frequencies of the suffixes analyzed
SUFFIX TYPES TOKENS
–ing 489 1394
–(at)ion 286 1238
–ment 19 62
–ance 30 89
–age 5 21
–ure 7 40
–al - -
Even though the frequency of Romance suffixes clearly increases during the EModE
period, on the basis of the relatively small sample used in the present dissertation it cannot
be stated that at this time they are really productive in English. They are almost
exclusively found attached to Romance bases (e.g. attraction, suppuration,
17
In her study, Cowie (2000: 184) clarifies that the difficulty of distinguishing borrowed action
nominalizations from nominalizations created following Romance patterns, as pointed out by Nevalainen
(1999), has led her to include in her study all –(at)ion nominalizations, without making a difference between
loanwords and English coinages.
189

6. FINDINGS
accomplishment, passage), which indicates that these words might in fact be borrowings
from Latin or French, rather than nominalizations formed in English using a Romance
suffix (see Section 6.2 below for further details). In the corpora, the only instances of
hybrid nominalizations formed from a native base and a Romance suffix are ailment,
hindrance, tarriance and tillage. Interestingly, none of them is formed with the most
common Romance suffix in the data, i.e. –(at)ion, but with suffixes showing much lower
frequencies of use. This is surprising since it could be expected that the higher frequency
of –(at)ion might have an impact on its analyzability and transparency to create action
nouns also from Germanic bases. However, as Miller (1997: 238-239) shows, the range of
bases to which Romance suffixes can be added is far more restricted than the number of
bases allowing the native suffix –ing (see Section 6.2.2 for further details).
6.1.5. Doublets and nominalization
Complete synonymy in language is said not to occur because it goes against the principle
of economy; that is, two ways of referring to the same thing are usually avoided. However,
when evidence from real language in use is considered, it is relatively common, for
example, to find two different nominalizations coexisting, known as doublets, deriving
from the same verbal root, as is the case of declaring and declaration, both deriving from
the verb declare. As can be seen in (184) and (185) below, there is no apparent difference
in meaning, both members of the doublet referring to the action of the base verb.
(184) Nowe the thirde way to knowe what thing Chirurgerie is, It is also
to be knowen by his beeing or declaring of his owne properties,
(…) (E1 1548 Vicary The anatomie of the bodie of man)
(185) your eye may iudg without muche declaracion, so that I shall not
neede to make more exposition therof, (…) (E1 1551 Record The
190

6. FINDINGS
path-way to knowledge, containing the first principles of
geometrie)
The aim of this section, therefore, is analyzing the possible structural differences
between doublets that may have led to the coexistence of both kinds of nominalizations.
After consulting the OED, it is clear that there is a tendency for Romance
nominalizations to be used as both action and result nominals, whereas in the case of –ing
nominals the stronger tendency is for them to be used only as action nouns. However, this
difference cannot serve to account for the existence of the doublets considered in the
current study because, as noted earlier, only action nouns have been considered here.
Therefore, aspects such as chronology, frequency, and types of dependents were assessed
to try to account for the coexistence of doublets.
6.1.5.1. Overview of the data
A total of 102 doublets were found in the corpora. Five of these are doublets formed from
Romance bases to which two different Romance suffixes are added, as in
continuance/continuation. However, the majority of the doublets in my data are formed
from a Romance verbal base, one member showing a Romance suffix, and the other the
native suffix –ing; exceptions are hindering/hindrance and stoppage/stopping, whose
bases are Germanic. More specifically, one of these doublets is actually a triplet. This
triplet has the native suffix –ing and the Romance –(at)ion, which is attached to two
variants of the same root, giving as a result the triplet union/unition/uniting. When looking
at the Romance suffixes used, five different suffixes were found, namely, –(at)ion, –ment,
–ance, –age and –ure. Of these five, –(at)ion is by far the most frequent since it was used
191

6. FINDINGS
85 times (78.7%), while –ment, –ance, –age and –ure are used only marginally, 5 [4.6%],
13 [12%], 3 [2.8%] and 2 [1.9%] times, respectively.
6.1.5.2. Chronology
Table 15 organizes the information in terms of the date of appearance of the earlier
element of the doublet. In other words, when the first element to appear was the –ing
nominal, it is reflected in the second column (–ing nominals). If the first element to appear
was the Romance nominal, then it is entered in the third column. Finally, if both elements
date from the same period, they are grouped in the fourth column under the heading
‘Both.’
Table 15. Date of appearance and origin of the first element of the doublet. 18
–ing nominals Romance Both TOTAL
nominals
ME 30
(39.4%)
42
(55.3%)
4
(5.3%)
76
(78.4%)
E1
(1500-1570)
3
(23%)
10
(77%)
- 13
(13.4%)
E2
(1570-1640)
2
(28.6%)
5
(71.4%)
- 7
(7.2%)
E3
(1640-1710)
1
(100%)
- - 1
(1%)
TOTAL 36
(37.1%)
57
(58.8%)
4
(4.1%)
97
(100%)
The results indicate that, in most cases (78.4%), the earlier element of the doublet had
already been introduced into the language in the course of the ME period, the remaining
21.6% corresponding to EModE innovations. Interestingly, as regards the origin of the first
element of the doublet, it is normally the Romance nominal that appears first.
18 Doublets formed by two Romance elements are excluded from the count here.
192

6. FINDINGS
The data presented above seems to indicate that, generally, Romance nominals are
borrowed as wholes into English. Later, when they are assimilated into the language, their
bases are used to create new words using native suffixes. However, since the way of
introduction of Romance nominalizations will be extensively analyzed in Section 6.2
below, it is at this point that we will analyze why these new hybrid formations, apparently
synonyms of already existing words, are needed in the language.
6.1.5.3. Frequency of the elements of the doublet
Table 16 shows the origin of the most frequent element of the doublet. In the majority of
cases, the Romance element is employed more frequently (59.2% vs. 13.3% for the –ing
nominal). These results are in line with those of Table 14, which showed that
nominalizations formed from Romance suffixes have a higher token frequency than native
ones. Going back to Table 16 below, when both elements show the same frequency, this is
usually low, with only one or two occurrences in the text.
Table 16. Origin of the most frequent element of the doublet. 19
–ing nominal Romance Equal
13 (13.4%) 58 (58.8%) 27 (27.8%)
6.1.5.4. Constituents of each nominalization phrase
In order to give an account of possible differences in the grammar of the two elements of
the doublets, they were then classified according to the type of constituents with which
they usually collocate, that is, according to the structure of the phrase as a whole.
19 Nominalizations where both members are of Romance origin have been excluded from the count here.
193

6. FINDINGS
Phrases having a nominal as their head may exhibit four different structural
patterns, as noted in Section 5.3.1 above. They are repeated here for convenience, using as
examples members of the doublets analyzed in this section. The patterns are a) the nominal
head is the only constituent (cf. [186]); b) there are pre-head dependents only, as in [187];
c) post-head dependents only (cf. [188]); or d) both pre- and post-head dependents (cf.
[189]):
(186) (…) and so to open the powers of the skinne by euaporating,
breathing and scattering abroad, and make thinne the grosse
matter and Phlegme. (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for the artificiall
cure of struma)
(187) (…) there is but few mens labors at the first made so perfect, but
that in processe of time & further consideration, they may be
bettered, corrected and amended. (E2 1602 Clowes Treatise for
the artificiall cure of struma)
(188) (…) so that they who believe the virtue of attracting light Bodies
to flow from the substantial form of Amber, (…) (E3 1675-6 Boyle
Electricity & magnetism)
(189) (…) or whether the Effect were not due rather to the Emission and
Retraction of Effluvia, which being of a viscous nature may
consist of Particles (…) (E3 1675-6 Boyle Electricity &
magnetism)
Thus, determiners (the), possessives, relative pronouns (what, which, that), PossPs,
adjectives and adverbs that may appear before the nominal will be considered pre-head
dependents. Post-head dependents will be all those PPs and adverbs acting as complements
or adjuncts of the head.
194

6. FINDINGS
Table 17. Dependents of –ing and Romance nominalizations according to period
E1 E2 E3 TOTAL
(1500-1570) (1570-1640) (1640-1710)
No dep. 11
6
8 25
–Ing
(21.1%) (8.2%) (6.8%) (9.9%)
nom.
Pre-head 5
10
3 18
dep.
(9.6%) (13.7%) (2.5%) (7.1%)
Post-head
dep.
27
(51.9%)
34
(46.6%)
91
(77.1%)
152
(60.1%)
Pre- &
Post-head
dep.
19
(36.5%)
23
(31.5%)
16
(13.6%)
58
(22.9%)
Romance
nom.
No dep. 34
(5%)
Pre-head 30
dep.
(22%)
Post-head 23
dep. (16.9%)
Pre- &
49
Post-head (36%)
dep.
72
(32.6%)
61
(27.6%)
31
(14%)
57
(25.8%)
67
(22.9%)
77
(26.3%)
26
(8.9%)
123
(42%)
173
(26.6%)
168
(25.8%)
80
(12.3%)
229
(35.2%)
As could be expected, both –ing and Romance elements of the doublets follow the
structural trends described in Section 6.1.2. This means that –ing forms move towards a
structure having only post-head dependents, whereas Romance nominalizations tend to
have both pre- and post-head dependents. A detailed account of the patterning of the
nominalizations forming the doublets is provided in what follows.
As can be seen in Table 17, having only post-head dependents is the preferred
pattern for –ing nominals in E1 (reaching 51.9% of all instances). –Ing nominalizations
having both pre- and post-head dependents with a percentage of 36.5% are the second
most preferred option. In E3 there is a decrease in the use of all kinds of phrases except
those with only post-head dependents, which rise from 51.9% to 77.1%. Usually, the
typical post-head dependent they take is an NP, as in (190) and (191) below:
195

6. FINDINGS
(190) (...) and thus you see the Infant grows bigger out of the Womb, by
agglutinating one affllux of blood to another. (E3 1666 Harvey
Morbus anglicus Academic)
(191) All which, being the several Subjects of Wounds, may well be
allowed to specifie them; and so much the rather, because from the
nature of them we raise our greatest Indications of altering the
method of Cure. (E3 1676 Wiseman Of wounds Surgery)
This kind of phrase is thus strongly reminiscent of a clausal pattern in which the verb is
followed by its object, as in (192a) and (192b) below:
(192) a. The infant agglutinates one afflux of blood to another.
b. We alter the method of cure.
As already noted, this trend for –ing nominals to preferably take only post-head
dependents is related to the process of increasing verbalization that these nominalizations
(gerunds) were undergoing at the time (Fanego 1996: 120; see also Section 6.1.2).
By contrast, Romance nominals behave quite differently (see also Table 17 above).
In this case, all four types of pattern show similar frequencies in E1. Thus, the preferred
pattern reaches 36%, for nominalizations having both pre- and post-head dependents, but it
is not very far removed from 16.9%, which corresponds to nominalizations having only
post-head dependents, the pattern with the lowest frequency. However, in E3 the situation
changes dramatically. The greatest increase is shown by nominalizations having pre- and
post-head dependents, which now reach 42%, as in (193) and (194) below. This increase is
also noticeable for nominalizations having only pre-head dependents (26.3% vs. 22% in
E1) (cf. [195] below).
(193) for neither can there bee good concoction in the parts as should be,
neither sufficient expulsion of the superfluities left of that
concoction in the part, as should bee. (E2 1633 Holland Gutta
podagrica Academic)
196

6. FINDINGS
(194) (...) so gentle medicines taken in due time, doe great good to the
sight: which I doe leaue to the appointment and direction of a
learned Phisition. (E2 1616 Bailey Preseruation of eie-sight
Academic)
(195) One is very regeneration, which is very reformation of the member
in the selfe same substaunce, forme, qualytie and quantitie: and
other such accidents properly as it was afore the corruption and
alteration. (E2 1579 Chauliac Qvydos qyestions Surgery)
In other words, the most remarkable increases relate to those patterns closer to
nominal syntax. Interestingly, nominalizations having only post-head dependents, which as
already said are strongly reminiscent of a verbal pattern, show the greatest decrease (from
16.9% in E1 to 8.9% in E3). A few examples with of-PP[object]s (cf. [196] and [197]) and
of-PP[subject]s (cf. [198]) follow here:
(196) I will set downe the diversities of ruptures, and the meanes of
curing of each: which are either incision, or trusse, or application
of medicaments, sometimes used solitary, sometimes concurring
most or all together. (E2 1630 Bonham Chyrvrgians closet
Surgery)
(197) (...) for here Nature will truly act her part, by application of bloud
and nourishment to both sides indifferently, and finish the
Coalitus without your farther assistence. (E3 1676 Wiseman Of
wounds Surgery)
(198) For which reason they are us’d not only in stoppages of the Urine,
and in Gonorrhea’s, but also in Inflammations of the Natural parts
of those that are troubl’d with Venereal Distempers. (E3 1678
Royal pharmacopoea Remedy)
Thus it seems that through the EModE period a kind of specialization of both
Romance and –ing nominals takes place. At the beginning of the period, the pattern with
only post-head dependents was already the most frequent for –ing nominals, while this
pattern was the less frequently used by Romance nominals. However, it must be conceded
197

6. FINDINGS
that the latter do not show great differences in the frequencies of the structural patterns
used with these nominalizations. During the EModE period these trends were intensified,
with –ing nominals tending to specialize in the pattern showing only post-head dependents,
that is, the one showing verbal features, whereas Romance nominals were most frequently
used with only pre-head dependents or both pre- and post-head dependents, that is, the two
patterns showing a closer resemblance to nominal patterns.
6.1.5.5. Meaning
As pointed out at the beginning of Section 6.1.5, no important differences in meaning are
detected between the two members of doublets, since both of them are action nouns.
However, some –ing nominalizations (e.g. distilling in [199a] and mixing in [200a] below)
seem to show a stronger action meaning than the corresponding Romance counterparts
(e.g. distillation in [199b] and mixture in [200b]). This is probably so due to two main
reasons. On the one hand, while –ing nominals are closer to verbal structure, Romance
nominalizations behave like nouns, syntactically speaking. On the other, Romance
formations are more frequently used with a concrete sense than –ing forms, as shown in
(199c) and (200c).
(199) a. And therefore I doe not allow of the common maner of distilling
in stillitories of lead, by the which the watry parts onely are
drawne. (E2 1616 Bailey Preseruation of eie-sight Academic)
b. They whiche haue the Ague of cold, thei be vexed with greuous
distillations, for the colde doeth bind the sonnes excreme-ts
with in the skin, their flesh also is lesse hot, and the whole body
pretendeth greater humor, bicause the accustomed effluxe is
letted thorow cold, further ther is no shrinking or wrinkling in
the skyn of the face. (E1 1566 Jones Dial for all agves
Academic)
198

6. FINDINGS
c. (...) he affirms that the body oft wasts by reason of a thick
Phlegm, being retained within the Lungs, and there putrefying;
according to which sense he writes, that a Distillation in the
Lungs is suppurated (turn’d to matter) in twenty days. (E3 1666
Harvey Morbus anglicus Academic)
(200) a. Secondly, by mixing two such liquid Bodies as Petroleum and
strong Spirit of Nitre in a certain proportion, and then
distilling them till there remained a dry mass, I obtain’d a
brittle substace as black as Jet; (E3 1665 Boyle Micrographia)
b. In man (saith he) [/13./] there is bitter, sweet, salt and sour, and
six hundred more qualities, which according to their plenty and
strength have other faculties, by mixture of the mutual
contempereration, nor are these seen, nor do they [^p. 16^]
molest (...) (E3 1662 Sennert Sixth book of practical physick
Academic)
c. He had taken all that time nothing but a sort of a disagreeable,
immiscible mixture of oc. canc. sang. Drac. camphor. sperm.
cet. ant. Diaph. all jumbled together with some White Wine;
some sunk, some swam a top and the Wine was left clear in the
middle. (E3 1697 Cockburn Continuation of the account of
distempers Academic) 20
6.1.5.6. Summary
This study has shown that the members of the nominalization doublets analyzed, although
close in meaning, have some identifiable differences, and that these justify the coexistence
of both members. It is clear that once Romance nominals had been introduced into
English, they were assimilated and their bases could be used to create new nominalizations
formed with the native suffix –ing. –Ing formations usually convey a stronger sense of
action, but in some cases no real difference in meaning can be noticed; the factor that
justifies the existence of the doublet is thus the type of phrase employed at any given time.
20 Instances (199c) and (200c) have been used here to illustrate the point, but since they are not action nouns,
they have not been taken into account for statistical purposes.
199

6. FINDINGS
Romance nominalizations are nouns, and as such they usually have pre-head dependents or
both pre- and post-head dependents. Furthermore, their post-head dependents are usually
of-PPs, as in the case of nouns. The case of –ing nominals, however, is different. The
pattern they usually prefer is that with post-head dependents only, that is, the one
reminiscent of a verb followed by its direct object, and the kind of post-head dependent
most frequently used is the NP. This possibility of combining with NPs without an
intervening preposition is due to the acquisition of verbal characteristics by –ing nouns. As
Romance nominalizations lack this capacity, –ing nouns are filling a gap in syntax that
cannot be filled by Romance nominals.
6.2. The acquisition of Romance nominalizations
As seen in previous sections, the amount of Romance nominalizations dramatically
increased during the EModE period. This rise is set within “the fastest growth of the
vocabulary in the history of the English language” (Görlach 1991: 136), which takes place
during the EModE period, especially from 1530 to 1660. As is well-known this need for
new words was due to two main causes. On the one hand, new ideas and processes related
to the changes that were taking place at that time needed to be expressed. On the other,
there was a need to enrich the rhetorical potential of the English language (Jones 1953: 68,
Görlach 1991: 137-138). As a way to enrich the lexicon, there were three main processes
of vocabulary expansion, namely, borrowing, affixation and the revival of obsolete native
English words (Moessner 2007: 236-237). It is generally agreed that borrowing was higher
than affixation on Latin patterns (Görlach 1991: 155; see also Nevalainen 1999: 351 and
Baugh and Cable 2002: 230). Finkenstadt et al. (1970) consider this context of lexical
200

6. FINDINGS
expansion the point when many Romance nominalizations became part of the English
vocabulary.
The aim of this section, then, is to clarify the factors that may have favoured the
use of Romance nominalizations such as, for instance, the writing tradition and the
translation of Latin and French texts, as well as to analyze the method of acquisition of
these formations into scientific discourse. In order to do that, Section 6.2.1 thus pays
attention to the earliest attestations of Romance nominalizations in order to date their
entrance into the English language. Section 6.2.2 tries to discern whether these formations
were the result of borrowing or of another word formation process. Section 6.2.3 assesses
the influence of translation in the acquisition of Romance nominalizations. Finally, Section
6.2.4 summarizes the main findings.
6.2.1. Earliest attestations of Romance nominalizations
In order to date the earliest attestations of the Romance nominalizations in my corpora, I
resorted to the information provided by the OED and the MED. However, it must be
clarified that determining the first attestation of a word is problematic, since words may
have appeared first in the spoken language, and only later in the written language (cf.
Görlach 1991: 137). A second clarification relates to the fact that for the purposes of this
dissertation, if the word has different shades of meaning, the date taken into account will
be that of the action noun, as in (201) below.
(201) [cf. OED s.v. contemplation n. 1. “The action of beholding, or
looking at with attention and thought.” (1500) (...) 3. a. spec.
“Religious musing, devout meditation.” (?c1225(1200)]
201

6. FINDINGS
Thus, according to the OED, contemplation appears already c1225. However, it is only in
the sixteenth century that it acquires the sense of an action noun.
In those cases where a nominalization is attested in my corpora earlier than in the
OED, then the date taken into account will naturally be that of my corpora. For instance,
nominalizations such as assignation or suffocation are first attested in E2 (1570-164)
according to the OED. However, in my corpora they are recorded already in E1 (1500-
1570).
Finkenstadt et al. (1970) have argued that it was in the early modern lexical
expansion when many Romance formations became part of the English language.
According to the data from Figure 7, however, it can be said that a vast amount of
Romance formations had been introduced in the vernacular already in ME. More
specifically, most of the Romance nominalizations employed in the texts analyzed are first
attested in ME (205 types) whereas only 142 are introduced in the EModE period. This
granted, it has to be acknowledged that though many Romance nominalizations are listed
in the MED, it may well have been the case that they were not yet fully integrated into
English as can be guessed from their spelling. For instance, examināciŏun, ělaborāciŏun,
petrifācciŏun and transmūtāciŏun are examples of these forms. The process of loan-word
adaptation into examination, elaboration, petrification and transmutation had not yet taken
place at that time.
202

6. FINDINGS
Figure 7. Earliest attestations of Romance nominalizations
250
Romance nominalizations
200
150
100
Romance nominalizations
50
0
ME E1 (1500-1570)E2 (1570-1640)E3 (1640-1710)
As for the Romance nominalizations introduced in EModE, they appear mainly in
the first two subperiods, that is, E1 and E2 (79 and 53 nominalizations, respectively).
These results are in line with those of Görlach (1991: 137), who points out that the
adoption of new terms has its peak from 1570 to 1630. Similarly, Barber (1997 [1976]:
222) situates this peak between 1590 and1600.
So, to sum up, the earliest attestations of most of the Romance formations
employed in the scientific texts analyzed in this dissertation go back to ME, and not to
EModE. Hence, the explosion in the use of Romance nominalizations in the EModE period
discussed in Section 6.1 above cannot be interpreted as an increase in the adoption or
creation of new lexical items, but rather as an increase in the frequency of nominalizations
in texts.
203

6. FINDINGS
6.2.1. Romance nominalizations in relation to borrowing and other word-formation
processes
This section analyzes how exactly Romance nominalizations were acquired by the English
language. As already mentioned, the methods available for vocabulary expansion are
borrowing, affixation and the revival of obsolete native words, but in the case under
discussion here only the first two apply.
As Nevalainen (1999: 397) points out, it is sometimes difficult to decide whether
Romance nominalizations have been borrowed or rather created in English following
Romance word-formation patterns. In this dissertation, Romance nominalizations which
are attested in English at an earlier date than the corresponding verbs are considered
borrowings, e.g. concoction (1531 vs. concoct 1607), convulsion (1599 vs. convulse 1643).
Romance nominalizations having no corresponding verb in English are also considered
borrowings, e.g. friction, deligation. By contrast, it can be safely assumed that Romance
nominalizations having a Romance suffix but a native base can be regarded as English
coinages on Latin patterns, e.g. tillage, ailment. Finally, those Romance nominalizations
attested later than their corresponding verbs or attested in the same year could be either
borrowings or English coinages, so they have been classified as indeterminate, e.g.
advisement (1393 vs. advise 1325), suspension (1425 vs. suspend 1425).
Table 18. Romance nominalizations: borrowing vs. affixation
Borrowings English Indeterminate TOTAL
coinages
Romance nom. 189 4 154 347
204

6. FINDINGS
The data in Table 18 show that most of the novel terms in the corpora are borrowings. This
preference for borrowing is also pointed out by Nevalainen (1999: 351) and Görlach
(1991: 155), who claims that “the number of loanwords was incomparably higher than that
of coinages formed on Latin patterns.” However, in this respect there is a contrast between
my data and Moessner’s (2007) results. In her article, Moessner shows that most of the
neologisms in EModE scientific texts are formed by affixation. This difference may stem
from the type of data analyzed. In the first place, she uses as her source of data the OED
quotations from Power’s Experimental Philosophy (1664), which yielded 699 lexemes for
analysis. Secondly, she takes into account a wider variety of word classes, including
adjectives such as hydrargyral or funicular and verbs such as effluviate, whereas the
present research is restricted to action nouns only. Furthermore, Moessner’s data are
mainly from the natural sciences whereas most of the texts used here belong to the medical
field. Moessner herself has pointed out to me (personal communication) that these are
quite different categories. In fact, the data in Table 9 (see Section 6.1.1 above) demonstrate
that, as far as nominalizations are concerned, the differences in frequency from one text to
another in the fields of scientific writing can be very great.
As for actual English coinages, only four unambiguous examples were found in the
corpora, all of them coinages with native bases formed on Latinate patterns (ailment,
hindrance, tarriance and tillage). The scarcity of such formations can be accounted for if
one bears in mind that, as pointed out by Miller (1997: 238-239), native derivational
affixes are naturally attached to French stems, whereas the range of environments in which
a Romance suffix is allowed is far more restrictive (cf. Section 6.1.4 above). For instance,
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6. FINDINGS
–(at)ion is the only alternative available for verbs ending in –ise, –ate, and –fy, whereas
the native suffix –ing can be added to all bases.
6.2.1. The influence of translation on the acquisition of Romance nominalizations
Gotti (2006: 675), among many others, has claimed that translation may favour borrowing.
The aim of this section is to examine if this factor really plays a role in the increasing use
of Romance nominalizations in scientific texts. For this task, the category of surgical
treatises has been singled out, since there are among its texts two translations from French
and Latin originals, namely, de Vigo’s Most excellent workes of chirurgerye and
Chauliac’s Qvydos qvestions. The number of Romance nominalizations in these texts will
be compared with their number in native texts from the same category in order to check
whether significant differences are found.
Table 19. Influence of translation on borrowing. Normalized frequencies per 10,000
words. (Translations from Latin or French in red)
Period Title Romance
nominalizations
E1
(1500-1560)
E2
(1560-1640)
E3
(1640-1710)
Handy warke of surgery 8 (14.6)
Most excellent workes of chirurgerye 24 (44.4)
Institution of a chirurgian 44 (81.1)
Qvydos qvestions 39 (72.1)
Whole art of chyrvrgerie 87 (159.8)
Chyrvrgians closet 20 (38.6)
Workes of that famous physitian 69 (126.4)
Of wounds 74 (134)
Novum lumen chirurgicum 76 (139.7)
The data in Table 19 show that, except for E3, in which the number of Romance
nominalizations is very similar in all texts, the amount of Romance nominalizations varies
enormously from text to text. Surprisingly, none of the translations, with normalized
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6. FINDINGS
frequencies of 44.4 and 72.1 respectively, is the text showing the highest number of
Romance nominalizations in its particular subperiod. However, these results should be
handled with care, since they are based on a not very large set of data. By way of
illustration, as can be seen in (202) and (203), two instances from translated texts, the
amount of Romance nominalizations is quite similar to their number in (204) and (205)
below, which are from texts originally written in English.
(202) [F]or the Chyrurgions that be ignoraunt in the Anatomie, maye
erre in many manners in their incision of sinues and their
knittings, the which if they knew the nature of euery member, their
setting and collygation that they haue in all the body, and with
euery onely member perticular, if it did happen that they were hurt
they should know if that sinewes were cut or not (E2 1579 Chauliac
Qvydos qvestions Surgery)
(203) Secondly it is to bee noted that there be two manners of
regeneration. One is very regenartion, which is very reformation
of the member in the selfe same substaunce, forme, qualytie and
quantitie: and other such accidents properly as it was afore the
corruption and alteration. And the other is regeneration not
very, but like therto as nigh as may be. (E2 1579 Chauliac Qvydos
qvestions Surgery)
(204) [}Pet.}] Which are causes? [} Ioh.}] Some are interne, and some
externe. Interne, as grosse humor, which moysten the nerues in the
braines and marrow, which let the vitall spirit to passe. Externe
are wounds, incision, falls, strokes, contusion, aposthume, cold
bandage, all outward things that may let the animall spirit to
passe. (E2 1612 Lowe Whole art of chyrvrgerie Surgery)
(205) Thirdly, the amputation of a limme by reason of a mortification,
or some other accident. Here shall be set downe the most accurate
method of dismembring. Fourthly, the extirpation of any part, as
the breast, when a cancerous either tumor or ulcer doth possesse it
(E3 1650 Read Workes of that famous physitian Surgery)
In both E1 and E2, the texts showing the highest frequency of Romance
nominalizations are texts originally written in English. Two main reasons can be found for
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6. FINDINGS
this somewhat remarkable result. First, as already noted, the gaps in the existing
vocabulary and the lack of terms of art in the vernacular required new words (Jones 1953:
68, Görlach 1991: 159). Second, the authors of scientific texts were learned writers with a
good command of classical languages. Hence, they made English eloquent and suitable for
the transmission of scientific knowledge by adopting technical terms from French and
Latin and wrote their texts using Latin works as a model. These are most probably the
reasons why both translations and texts originally written in English do not present the
differences in the use of Romance action nouns that might have been expected in light of
earlier research (e.g. Gotti 2006) on the relationship between borrowing and translation.
6.2.1. Summary
Most of the nominalizations used in the texts analyzed here become part of the English
vocabulary already in ME. Thus, their rise in the EModE period has more to do with an
increase in their token frequency than with a massive acquisition of this kind of lexical
units during EModE.
Although their ultimate origin is sometimes hard to identify, it seems that
borrowing from French and Latin was the main source of acquisition of the Romance
nominalizations used in the scientific texts examined in this dissertation.
To judge from my data, translation does not seem to have played a major role in the
acquisition of Romance nominalizations, although this statement should be taken with
caution due to relatively limited database employed. With this proviso, the low impact of
translation on the acquisition of Romance nominalizations may be explained by the fact
208

6. FINDINGS
that authors of surgical treatises originally written in the vernacular were learned writers
with a good knowledge of Romance terms and used them following Latinate patterns of
writing.
6.3. The use of nominalizations in relation to the variation across medical genres
As pointed out in Chapter 1, attention has often been drawn to the frequent use of
nominalizations in Early Modern scientific English (Gotti 2006: 679, Banks 2008).
However, those texts typically classified as ‘scientific writing’ cannot be considered
homogeneous or ‘stationary’ (Halliday and Martin 1993: 54), due to the diversity of their
intended audiences and the different subareas of knowledge represented.
This section intends to examine whether such factors may have played a role in the
kinds of nominalizations preferred in different types of scientific texts. The starting
hypothesis is that Romance nominalizations would be more prevalent in more academic
texts, directed to a learned, professional audience, whereas native nominalizations ending
in –ing would occur more frequently in more popular texts (see Section 4.5 above). In
order to test whether the variables text type and audience have an effect on the frequency
and origin of the nominalizations employed as well as on the lexical richness of certain
types of medical texts, three categories of medical writing, each with different intended
audiences (see Bennett 1970: 141-145, Taavitsainen 2001a: 88), have been analyzed in
what follows, namely, academic treatises, surgical treatises and remedy books. Section
6.3.1 analyzes the frequency of nominalizations according to their origin and text category.
In turn, Section 6.3.2 is concerned with the variation of the bases used in the formation of
209

6. FINDINGS
nominalizations in the three selected categories of medical writing as a way to assess
lexical richness. Finally, Section 6.3.3 summarizes the main findings.
6.3.1. Frequency of nominalizations according to origin and text category
The analysis of the frequency of the nominalizations employed took into account the
variables of origin and text category. Since the collection Early Modern English Medical
Texts (EMEMT) makes a clear distinction between the different categories of medical
writing, the data analyzed in this section have been taken exclusively from a selection of
texts from this corpus (see Tables 5, 6 and 7 in Chapter 5). Baayen and Renouf (1996: 90)
point out that “the way in which words are put to use (...) may vary substantially from
genre to genre, from text type to text type, and even from author to author,” and that “there
is some evidence that suggests that the productivity of affixes is similarly subject to
variation as a function of text type and style.” According to the data in Table 20 (see also
Figure 8), this is so in the case of nominalization in medical writing. As expected,
Romance nominalization is much higher in texts intended for more learned audiences, such
as surgeons and specialists on particular medical topics, who read surgical and academic
treatises, than in texts, such as remedy books, intended for wider audiences including
laymen. Thus, the choice between native and Romance nominalizations is conditioned by
text category and style.
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6. FINDINGS
Table 20. Overall figures for –ing and Romance nominalizations in medical texts,
according to subgenre (normalized frequencies per 10,000 words in brackets)
Remedy Surgical Academic Total
books treatises treatises
–Ing nom. 272 (56.6) 318 (65.2) 386 (81.1) 976 (67.6)
Romance 163 (33.9) 441 (90.4) 517 (108.6) 1,121 (77.6)
nom.
Total 435 (90.5) 759 (155.6) 903 (189.8) 2,097 (145.2)
Figure 8. Distribution of –ing and Romance nominalizations, according to subgenre
As seen in Table 20, Romance nominalizations have a normalized frequency of only 33.9
in remedy books, while –ing nominalizations are much more frequent (normalized
frequency: 56.6). In surgical and academic treatises the opposite tendency is found, with a
higher frequency of Romance than native nominalizations, indeed, more than three times
higher than for remedy books, having relative frequencies of 90.4 (for surgical treatises)
and 108.6 (for academic treatises). These differences in the proportional distribution of
Romance and –ing nominalizations in the three categories of medical texts are shown to be
211

6. FINDINGS
significant. Thus, the application of the Chi-square test gives a significant result of
(x²=46.21, df=1, p=

6. FINDINGS
Figure 9. Suffixes used in remedy books by time period (raw figures)
This tendency can perhaps be explained in terms of audience. As claimed in
Section 4.5.2.3, remedy books belong at the most popular end of the popular-learned
continuum, some of their potential readers being householders or gentlewomen. They
could read, but specialized terminology with a foreign origin might have been obscure to
them. For this reason, authors perhaps favoured a plain style, preferring native terms over
obscure foreign ones. As can be seen in instances (206) to (208) below, the
nominalizations used derive from everyday verbs (cf. boil, come, burn and fret) which can
be used in contexts other than the medical field, and as such the terms would have been
easily understandable by the readers, relating to concepts already present in their semantic
repertoire, and thus making the necessary information transfer easier. This procedure is
what Gotti (2003: 56) defines as “term metaphor,” namely, a “device used in specialized
discourse to create terms drawn from general language.” Furthermore, it must also be
213

6. FINDINGS
taken into account that this category of text shows a preference for native nominalizations
due to its long vernacular tradition (see Section 4.5.2.3 above) and hence the introduction
of Romance formations is not as strong as in other text categories.
(206) If Acrimony of humours, boiling of the blood, want of rest and
sleep, accompany Diseases of the Lungs and Brest, you may add to
the Emulsions two drams of White Poppy-seed, (...) (E3 1678
Charas Royal pharmacopoea Remedy)
(207) (...) and they will break flesh easily, and prevent Torments and
Agues, and other Griefs, which usually accompany their coming
forth. (E3 1700 Woolley Supplement to the compleat servant maid
Remedy)
(208) Boyle it with the flowers, and by it selfe in honied water or wine,
and drinke it to swage the hote burning and fretting of the bowels,
or seethe it in water, and take it with a glister for the same purpose
(E2 1597 Langham Garden of health Remedy)
Despite the previous qualifications, it must be noted that there is a remarkable
increase in the degree of Romance nominalization in E3 (see examples [209] and [210]
below). A plausible explanation for this might perhaps be the influence of other medical
categories, where the use of Romance nominalization is much higher than the use of native
–ing-nominalization. Not surprisingly, Joseph (1998: 364) claims that “the spread of
morphological innovations is subject to social factors governing the evaluation of an
innovation by speakers and its adoption by them.” Therefore, if authors of remedy books
started to perceive Romance nominalizations as a descriptive feature of scientific or
medical writing, it may make sense that they introduced them in their writings, as a mark
of genre.
(209) Mixtures are also sometimes made of a more thick consistency, not
much unlike that of ordinary Opiates, which is for the
accommodation of such Patients, as cannot take Remedies in
Drink. (E3 1678 Charas Royal pharmacopoea Remedy)
214

6. FINDINGS
(210) Nor upon those which may be drawn from their parts by assation,
pressing, or otherwise, as the Gravies, and Liquors of Meats, &c.
(E3 1678 Charas Royal pharmacopoea Remedy)
Concerning the texts intended for a learned audience such as surgeons and
specialists, Figures 10 and 11 show that native –ing nominals have a higher frequency than
Romance nominalizations only in E1, when –ing reaches a normalized frequency of 50.3
in surgical treatises and 86.4 in academic treatises. However, by the end of the EModE
period –(at)ion becomes the most common suffix, reaching a normalized frequency of
111.4 in texts for surgeons. In the case of texts for specialized audiences, this increase is
yet higher, reaching a normalized frequency of 151.5 in E3.
Figure 10. Suffixes used in surgical treatises, by time period (raw figures)
215

6. FINDINGS
Figure 11. Suffixes used in academic treatises, by time period (raw figures)
Such a preference for the use of Romance nominalizations may be explained by the fact
that some of these works were originally written in French or Latin (see sections 4.5.2.1
and 4.5.2.2 above); Jones (1953: 68), Russ (1982: 19) and others have argued that when
translated into English, the Romance terms may have been maintained due to the difficulty
of finding a suitable English counterpart, the vernacular lacking terms of comparable
eloquence. Take, for instance, (211) and (212) below. They are translations into English,
and since there is no suitable native term available, Romance words were maintained.
(211) And for these causes and reasons they do not reconsolidate with
true reconsolidation, after the desolution of their separating, but
Nature strengthening always possible things the best that she may,
(… ) (E2 1579 Chauliac Qvydos qvestions Surgery)
(212) (…) I say first, that all sanguine members may regenerate & knit,
by very regeneration & consolidation for continually ther
engendreth blood inough (….) (E2 1579 Chauliac Qvydos
qvestions Surgery)
216

6. FINDINGS
Even when these texts were originally written in the vernacular, Romance texts had
such a great influence on them (Taavitsainen 2002: 205) that many authors used Romance
terms. Again, this may be due to the lack of available native terms in such a specialized
register (Gotti 2006), such as in (213) and (214) below:
(213) For I have known pieces of Splinters, &c. sometimes stick so fast
in the inward Parts, or to have been so inclosed, that we could by
no means get them out: yet at length, upon Apostemation of the
Part, they have thrust forth (E3 1676 Wiseman Of wounds
Surgery)
(214) The third is, in retaining the Lips so brought together, that they
may by Consolidation be restored to their former figure. (E3 1676
Wiseman Of wounds Surgery)
There are other occasions when Romance nominalizations are used despite the
availability of native equivalents. For instance, in (215), the translator maintains the
Romance term incision, where he could have used an equivalent native term like cutting.
Again in (216), the native author prefers the Romance term amputation over the native
cutting.
(215) (…) the Chyrurgions that be ignoraunt in the Anatomie, maye erre
in many manners in their incision of sinues and their knittings, (…)
(E2 1579 Chauliac Qvydos qvestions Surgery)
(216) Thirdly, the amputation of a lime by reason of a mortification, or
some other accident. (E3 1650 Read Workes of that famous
physitian Surgery)
A plausible explanation for this might be in line with Algeo’s (1991: 14) claim that
[t]he need for new words is both pragmatic and esthetic. Pragmatically,
when there are new things to talk about, we need new words to name
them. Or sometimes we want to talk about old things in a new way.
Changes in society, whether material or intellectual, call for new words;
and the more intense the social change, the more need we have to name
new things or rename old ones. Thus, invention, discovery, exploration,
war, commerce and revolution all breed neology. But language is not
217

6. FINDINGS
limited to the practical values of conceptualization, communication,
management, and cooperation.
In the particular case of Latin abstract terms, Miller (1997: 245) suggests that, in
ME, their use might sometimes have had stylistic motivations rather than being the result
of the absence of an equivalent in OE. In a similar vein, Blake (2008 [1992]b: 507) points
out that “Latin words may well carry far more connotation than English words, which were
not associated with particular contexts or themes.” It seems that, in ME, a preference for
Romance nominalizations may have existed in certain contexts in the sense that they
appear more “professional” or “specific.” This trend might have been maintained during
the EModE period. In texts intended for learned audiences such as the surgeon collective
or specialist physicians, Romance nominalizations can be used more freely, since it is
expected that they will be easily understood. Furthermore, these Romance nominalizations
“may lose its functionality and become associated with and a marker of a particular style
or register” (Cowie 2000: 182, see also Halliday 1993: 68).
6.3.2. Variation in the verbal bases of nominalizations according to audience
This section analyzes the kind of bases that were used in the formation of nominalizations
in the medical categories in order to test for lexical richness. The lexical richness of a text
is usually defined as “a function of the number of types in relation to tokens” (Broeder,
Extra and van Hout 1989: 89-90). Lexical richness is closely related to the kind of
audience, because the more learned the audience, the richer the lexicon they can handle.
Table 21 gives an overview of the number of bases, or types, found for different audiences,
and Table 22 focuses on the bases specific to a particular kind of audience.
218

6. FINDINGS
As can be seen from Table 21, the highest number of bases is that used with the
native –ing suffix in all three categories. This is related to the high productivity of –ing. As
Bybee (1985: 134) points out, “the most productive forms appear to be those with high
type but low token frequency, that is those with many class members, infrequently used.”
This difference in the number of bases for intended audiences is statistically significant
(x²=27.99, df= 1, p=

6. FINDINGS
Table 22. Number of bases specific to a kind of audience
Remedy books Surgical trs. Academic trs.
–ing 41 98 127
–(at)ion 18 75 68
–ment 1 5 9
–ance 3 2 16
–age 1 2 1
–ure - 3 2
–al - - -
TOTAL 59 185 214
Table 22 shows that specific bases are more frequent in surgical and academic treatises.
When bases are shared by texts for popular and learned audiences, the vast majority of
these are common, everyday words, of native origin such as bruise, drink, run and stand.
As Table 20 above shows, texts for specialists have a preference for Romance
nominalizations. For example, surgical and academic treatises show a high number of
Romance bases, including compromise, discover and purify. This may be a consequence of
their learned audience, as well as of the Romance substratum of these categories (see
sections 4.5.2.1 and 4.5.2.2 above). However, the frequency of native formations here is
still noticeable.
On the other hand, as I observed in Section 6.3.1 above, texts for popular audiences
present quite a small number of Romance nominalizations compared to both surgical and
academic treatises. Thus, bases used with the –(at)ion suffix, the most frequent Romance
suffix (see Figures 10, 11 and 12 above) are more than three times as numerous in
academic treatises than in remedy books. It was often made explicit in texts, however, that
even learned audiences might have problems with these foreign terms, as examples (217)
and (218) show. Instance (217) is particularly illustrative. Three native nominalizations
(overwaking, breathing and drawing) are used to explain not only Romance words such as
220

6. FINDINGS
vigilies, which may be obscure for the reader, but also the hybrid nominalizations
ventilating and attracting, which must already have been integrated in the language, given
that their Romance bases are employed in the creation of a formation with the native –ing
suffix. Nevertheless, the author prefers to leave no room for doubt, and hence introduces a
native equivalent. 21
Instance (218) illustrates in turn how some of the Romance
nominalizations already known to the audience are also used to clarify the meaning of
those Romance words with a more obscure meaning. So, diminution and extenuation are
used in the definition of a true and false Marasmus. We might also note that the author
decides to give a native equivalent for extenuation, since this Romance term may itself
have been obscure for his audience.
(217) Add hereunto the continual vigilies (overwaking, or want of
sleep,) melancholique, sorry, dull, lingring passions, the said
Hypochondriack patient is præcipitated (forced) into, whereby the
spirits being rendred dull, stupid, languid (fainting), and
suppressed, are deserted (left) incapable of ventilating (breathing)
and purifying the blood, and debilitated (weakened) in attracting
(drawing) nutriment for the parts, which consequently must wither
and shrink. (E3 1666 Harvey Morbus anglicus Academic)
(218) A Marasmus is otherwise distinguish’d into true and false. The
former is an equal diminution of all the parts of the body; the
latter is an extenuation (shrinking) of a single part only. (E3 1666
Harvey Morbus anglicus Academic)
As pointed out in sections 6.1.4 and 6.2.2 above, both native and Romance bases
combine with the –ing suffix (e.g. swimming, curing), whereas hybrids formed from native
21 The same technique of clarification is applied to foreign adjectives such as præecipitated, languid,
deserted or debilitated, although these fall outside the scope of this study.
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6. FINDINGS
bases and Romance suffixes are very rare in the corpus. The only instances found are
ailment, hindrance, tarriance and tillage.
6.3.3. Summary
As expected, the findings in this section show that interesting differences exist as regards
the use and origin of the nominalizations employed in the different subgenres of medical
writing. Thus, texts addressed to a popular audience show a preference for native
nominalizations, although in all subgenres there is a strong tendency for Romance
nominalizations to increase over the course of the EModE period. The preference for
native nominalizations in texts for popular audiences, such as remedy books, may be due
to their earlier vernacular origin, but also to the accommodation to their audience. These
writings were used by practitioners, but also by common people for whom the cost of a
physician was prohibitive. Whereas such people might well have been able to read, they
would probably have lacked a good command of Romance terms.
On the other hand, texts for the surgical community and specialists, such as
surgical and academic treatises, show a higher proportion of nominalizations involving a
Romance suffix than of –ing formations. This is so because it would have been assumed
that a learned audience was able to cope with most of these difficult terms. It could also be
expected that many such texts were translated from French or Latin, especially the latter,
and through this process, many Romance words were adopted into English, since the
vernacular lacked specialized vocabulary. However, as seen in Section 6.2.3 translation
does not pay a major role in my data. There is also a wider range of bases for the formation
222

6. FINDINGS
of nominalizations in texts for learned than popular audiences, the former being lexically
richer.
In short, we have seen that differences exist in the use and origin of
nominalizations across the categories of medical writing. Although other factors may have
been at work, it is very likely that the expectations a particular author had of his audience
may play an important role in accounting for such differences.
6.4. Summary
This chapter has demonstrated that there is a rise in the use of nominalizations in the
scientific writing of the EModE period. However, the increase does not affect all the
nominalizations in the same way. Thus, there is an explosion of Romance nominalizations,
whereas the rise of –ing nominals is more moderate. Furthermore, there is variation in the
frequencies of nominalizations if we take into account their structure: whereas verbal –ing
formations increase especially in phrases having only post-head dependents, nominal –ing
formations decrease with all types of phrase. The gap left by the decrease of nominal –ing
formations is filled by Romance nominalizations, which are preferred with both pre- and
post-head dependents.
The kinds of dependents nominalizations take are also well differentiated. Verbal
–ing formations appear mostly with NPs as post-head dependents, less frequently with
predicatives or other “verbal” complements. However, nominal –ing and Romance
nominalizations are usually preceded by determiners, adjectives and possessives and their
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6. FINDINGS
preferred post-head dependents are of-PPs. This reflects the continuum of nominalizations,
ranging from those that are nouns proper to the most verbal ones.
As for the preferred syntactic position, all nominalizations behave homogeneously.
They are overwhelmingly used as complements of a preposition, although it can be
conceded that this preference is stronger in the case of verbal –ing formations. The
possibility of being used as complements of a preposition makes nominalizations a
valuable tool for scientific writing as they can be used to compress information.
The data has also shown that –ing is the most productive suffix since it is the one
which combines with a wider variety of bases, of both native and foreign origin. The most
frequent Romance suffix is –(at)ion, but it is always combined with Romance bases. The
other Romance suffixes can be considered marginal. Surprisingly, the few instances of
hybrid formations having a Romance suffix are formed with these less common suffixes.
After analyzing the chronology of their formation, it was also made clear that most
of these Romance formations are adopted into English by a process of borrowing rather
than affixation following Latin patterns. However, contrary to what was expected, my data
show no indications of the influence of translation on borrowing. The fact that Romance
nominalizations are more numerous in texts originally written in English than in
translations can be explained by the fact that the authors of these texts were learned writers
with a good command of classical languages and followed Latin texts as a model.
Therefore, they filled the gaps in the existing vernacular vocabulary by using these foreign
terms.
224

6. FINDINGS
Differences were also found in the use of nominalizations in the different subgenres
of scientific writing. In the particular case of medical writing, it is clear that the use and
origin of nominalizations varies according to variables such as audience and writing
tradition. The use of nominalizations, especially those of Romance origin, is more
common in surgical and academic treatises than in remedy books. This is due to two main
reasons. On the one hand, remedy books have a vernacular origin whereas surgical and
academic treatises are based on Latin patterns. Furthermore, the audience of the former
was popular and probably could not cope with the use of Romance hard words. By
contrast, the learned audiences for which surgical and academic treatises were intended
were able to understand these terms more easily.
It must be noted, however, that in the course of time the use of Romance
nominalizations increases even in the more popular category of remedy books. This is
probably so due to stylistic reasons: medical writers perceive Romance nominals as a
characteristic feature of scientific writing, and therefore use them in their works as a mark
of genre.
225

7. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
7. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
This dissertation was conceived as a contribution to the literature on nominalizations. Its
point of departure was the assertion that action nominalizations are the result of a wordformation
process which aims at filling gaps in the vocabulary of a particular language,
English in this case. Action nominalizations are clear cases of grammatical metaphor
(Halliday 2004 [1985]), since they are nouns, but they refer to actions as verbs do. For this
reason, attention was given to the evolution and use of action nominalizations in the
EModE period, the time which saw the greatest increase of vocabulary in the history of the
English language. Given that nouns prototypically refer to objects rather than actions, the
question arises as to how they behave when they denote actions, and what the
consequences of this use are. What follows is a summary of the dissertation, following the
original order of the chapters.
Chapter 1 determined the object of study, that is, action nominalizations, and
provided a definition of the term (Section 1.1). In Section 1.2 the problems in the
categorization of action nouns are discussed, given that they are not prototypical nouns in
that they do not refer to objects. After an overview of the main views on categories (the
classical and prototype approaches) in Section 1.2.1, Section 1.2.2 analyzed the efficiency
of criteria such as morphology, semantics, syntax and discourse role in the classification of
lexical items into a particular category, looking especially at discourse role and how
arguments are codified in the discourse. Section 1.2.3 seeks to present nominalization
within the phenomenon of category shift. Finally, in Section 1.2.4 it is argued that the
phenomenon of nominalization is difficult to encode in a rigid theory of categorization
227

7. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
such as the classical one. The nominal and verbal features that some nominalizations
possess mean that they can only be seen to fit a prototype model in which they can be
classified as non-prototypical members of the nominal category. Their non-prototypicality
is reflected in their morphology.
Section 1.3 discusses the existing literature on nominalizations. Thus, Section 1.3.1
analyzes the semantic approaches to nominalization. Since the publication of Lees (1968
[1960]), the systematic relations between verbs and their corresponding nominalizations
have been sought. Thus, Chomsky (1964) describes nominalizations as transformations
deriving from base structures, whereas linguists such as Grimshaw (1990) have looked at
the argument structure of nominalization and concluded that only complex event nominals
such as construction have argument structure, as do verbs. In Section 1.3.2, the lexicalist
theory is discussed. Here, Chomsky (1970) questioned his own transformational theory,
proposing that the structural differences between derived nominals (refusal) and
gerundives (refusing) make it impossible for them to have the same origin. Chomsky
developed the lexicalist theory by incorporating syntactic features to the theory of
grammar, this being used to explain deverbal nominalizations. Section 1.3.3 dealt with the
idea that nominalizations form a squish in which they go from the more nominal to the
more verbal kinds of nominalizations (cf. Ross 1973, 2004; Mackenzie 1996). Comrie
(1976) and Koptjevskaja-Tamm (1993) claimed that this continuum is not peculiar to the
English language, and that such a range of variation is found across languages. Section
1.3.4 analyzes how the different kinds of nominalizations have their own meanings,
varying from a bare proposition to a fully specified predication. Section 1.3.5 presents
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nominalizations as instances of grammatical metaphor, as proposed by Halliday (2004
[1985]), Halliday and Martin (1993) and Banks (2008). Grammatical metaphor has two
consequences. Firstly, a process, encoded as a noun, can be used in the syntactic positions
which a noun can occupy. Secondly, the process acquires some of the semantic properties
of the noun (persistence in time). Section 1.3.6 is devoted to the cognitive-functional
approach proposed by Heyvaert (2003) and her use of the concept of agnation to account
for the relation between nominalizations and the clauses they are derived from. Finally, in
Section 1.3.7 different studies are discussed, such as Albentosa-Hernández and Moya-
Guijarro (2001) and Andersen (2007), in which nominalizations are analyzed in context,
that is, their use in particular kinds of text is assessed.
Chapter 2 focused on –ing nominals and provided a thorough analysis of their
origins and distinctive features in the EModE period. As a point of departure, Section 2.1
clarified the origins of –ing formations. Thus, back in OE the –ing suffix was used to
create action nouns from verbal bases. However, over the course of time these formations
have been acquiring verbal syntactic features, a fact that has led to the coexistence of the
two kinds of –ing nominals above mentioned. The chronology of their formation was the
focus of Section 2.2. Here it was made clear, although not discussed exhaustively, that the
English (verbal) gerund construction became available in ME. Section 2.3 goes on to
describe the structural instability of –ing formations during the EModE period; at this
point, then, not only did nominal and verbal –ing forms coexist, but also mixed forms of
the kind God’s sending his onely Son and the abolishing the whole Hierarchy in that
Kingdome. These mixed –ing formations were the result of a non-uniform verbalization
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process, which took place earlier in more oral/informal genres and in nominalizations
having only post-head dependents, and only later in those showing both pre- and post-head
dependents. Since post-head dependents started to be verbal, whereas pre-head ones
remained nominal, mixed forms appeared and coexisted for a while with both nominal and
verbal ones. These mixed gerunds were relatively common since they could be used in
slots where verbal formations were not yet accepted (Fanego 1996). This chapter also
described the process of change which –ing forms were undergoing at that time, and
justified the necessity of taking all these formations into consideration in Chapter 6 for a
thorough account of nominalizations in the EModE period.
Chapter 3 dealt with nominal complementation and argument structure. It
considered the existing theories on argument structure and analyzed the main dependents
of nominalizations. In this vein Section 3.1 discussed the similarities between the items
that co-occur with nominalizations and those that co-occur with their base verbs. Here the
idea of valency reduction (Mackenzie 1985: 32) was also introduced. Finally, the topic of
argument structure in nominals was presented, listing the main views in support of it
(Vendler 1968; Zubizarreta 1987 and Grimshaw 1990) and those against it (Anderson
1983; Higginbotham 1983 and Dowty 1989). However, the definition of argument
structure was fully developed later, in Section 3.2. Grimshaw advocated the view that not
all nouns have argument structure, only complex event nominals. This contrasts with
Picallo (1991), who argued that result nouns may also select arguments. Similarly, within
the framework of Distributed Morphology (see Marantz 1999), Alexiadou (2001: 66)
proposed that both result and event nouns are capable of licensing arguments, although she
did concede that it was only in the case of event nouns that these arguments were
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obligatory. Sleeman and Brito (2010), despite accepting much of the theoretical model
proposed by Alexiadou, criticized her for sticking to the event versus result nominals
dichotomy proposed by Grimshaw (1990).
Section 3.3 analyzed the main dependents of action nominalizations. As a means of
classifying them, they have been divided into pre-head dependents (cf. Section 3.3.1) and
post-head dependents (cf. Section 3.3.2) following Fanego’s (1996) model. The items
found in pre-head position were usually determiners, possessives (not only pronouns but
also genitive NPs), adjectives, nouns and adverbs. Determiners and possessives occupy a
major role in the literature. It has been claimed (cf. Grimshaw 1990) that only the definite
article can fill the determiner slot with action nouns. However, more recently Heyvaert
(2000) argued that the indefinite article, the zero determiner and quantifiers such as no,
some, and any among others, can also appear with action nominalizations. As for the
possessive slot, in English it can be filled either by possessive determiners or PossPs. In
contemporary –ing nominals, this possessive represents the subject of the clause (cf.
Fanego 1998). However in earlier use it can also marginally represent the object (see
Jespersen 1940 [1909] V: §§9.2.2-4; Tajima 1985a: 42-5; Visser 1963-1973: §§1105-6).
Section 3.3.2 analyzed post-head dependents. The literature revealed that they were
usually of-PPs and by-phrases, and to a lesser extent other PPs as well as sentential
complements. Of-PPs were presented, together with possessives, as the two English forms
for expressing genitive meaning. Although they are not completely identical, some
overlapping exists between these two forms. In some cases only one construction is
adequate, and this adequacy is determined by a number of structural and semantic
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conditions noted by Quirk et al. (1985: 321-326) as well as by the principles of end-focus
and end-weight (Quirk et al. 1985: 323; Taylor 1994a, b).
The main aim of this section was to emphasise that the dependents of
nominalizations have a parallel role to arguments in sentences, but that the number of
arguments appearing in nominalizations is usually considerably lower than in their nonnominalized
counterparts, the process of nominalization usually implying a valency
reduction. This assertion was subsequently tested empirically in Chapter 6.
Chapter 4 depicted the world of science in the EModE period and how scientific
progress might have had an impact on the evolution of the English language, particularly
in the use and frequency of nominalizations. Hence, Section 4.1 dealt with the rhetoric of
science, and scientific texts seen as objects with intrinsic aesthetic value, used as a means
of persuading authors’ fellow scientists of their observations, arguments or theories.
Scientific writing was described as a heterogeneous genre, but its general features were
nevertheless listed, paying special attention to those related to the use of nominalizations.
It was claimed that the use of nominalizations helped to achieve the objectivity and
impersonality required in scientific texts as well as to describe actions that took place in
the scientific experiments (cf. Section 4.1.1). Hence, nominalizations are useful devices for
the redistribution of information in a clause and to help in the “step by step” description of
scientific processes. They are also useful as cohesive devices. Section 4.1.2 discussed
various other factors that might have favoured the use of nominalizations in Early Modern
scientific English. In a period when many new words were required to express the new and
constantly evolving ideas of science, nominalizations were of use because of their
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monoreferentiality and transparency. Section 4.2 analyzed the implications of this for the
“scientific revolution.” Changes in methodology, with scientists not only theorizing but
also conducting experiments, as well as changes in the conception of science itself, have
led to some scholars considering this period revolutionary (Koyré 1990 [1966]: 1-2).
However, such a revolution is denied by others (cf. Mikkeli and Marttila 2010: 13). Shapin
(1996) is a strong supporter of the latter view, arguing that a scientific revolution did not
happen at this time due to the lack of a universal scientific method. However, Shapin
himself conceded that scientists at the time, such as Bacon and Galileo, did indeed insist
on the fact that they were doing something completely new, which does hint at the idea of
revolution. Section 4.2.1 analyzed the role of the Royal Society as a key institution in the
homogenization of scientific writing and in the spread of science to a wider community,
including the middle classes. Section 4.2.2 focused on the role of the printing press as a
means of making scientific texts available to a wider public and fostering communication
between scientists. Section 4.3 described the changes in the language of science, from the
use of Latin to the vernacularization of science. Thus, Section 4.3.1 looked specifically at
the role of Latin. It was stated that Latin was the lingua franca of science during the
Middle English period. Latin was at this time the barrier that separated learned from lay
men as well as separating science from popular tradition. However, in the EModE period
the situation changed and scientists came to associate Latin with antiquity and traditional
notions of science. Despite being the key to accessing a vast cultural heritage, Latin lost
ground in favour of the vernacular, which was increasingly used in even the more
prestigious registers. The different problems in the vernacularization of science were
analyzed in Section 4.3.2. As Jones (1953) and Gotti (2006) have both discussed
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extensively, the greatest problem faced by the vernacular was a lack of eloquence and of
technical terms, which rendered it unfit for the scientific register. As a way of expanding
vocabulary, two main trends emerged: creating a new word or giving a specialized
meaning to an existing one, and borrowing words from other languages, especially from
the prestigious classical ones. However, the extensive borrowing that took place during
this period was strongly criticized by some authors at the time, who considered these new
words difficult to understand. Looking particularly at the field of science, there was also
strong opposition to the vernacular. Classical scientists were opposed to the use of English
in scientific writings because they considered that it worked against the prestige of
universities and of learned men. In short, they did not want to make things easier for
others. This was especially so in the field of medical science, where many scientists argued
that as any person able to read in English could practise medicine, people’s lives would be
endangered; in reality such arguments were more a matter of self-preservation. Section 4.4
explored the question of literacy in the EModE period, paying special attention to its
spread as well as to clarifying the related terms audience, readership and discourse
community. As seen in Section 4.4.1, the spread of literacy in English was a consequence
of the Puritan ethic, which considered literacy to be the key to achieving personal and
material success. This rise in the level of literacy led to a new and increasing demand for
books, including those related to science. Section 4.4.2 focused on the discussion of the
differences between audience, readership and discourse community. Audience is the
author’s idea regarding those who will read his/her writings, whereas readership refers to
the actual readers of a book, and discourse community denotes the group of people who
share a given discourse and communicate with each other. Hence, if nominalizations were
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seen as a feature of scientific writing, all members of the scientific community would be
likely to use them in their texts. They would also use a kind of register that the audience
they had in mind would understand, although it is also true that audience and readership
did not always coincide. Finally, Section 4.5 was devoted to medical texts and the
categories of writing therein. The field of medicine in EModE was more heterogeneous
and less clearly defined than nowadays. However, the different kinds of medical writings
were perfectly delimited, and ranged from most popular to most academic. In Chapter 6 of
this dissertation, remedy books, surgical treatises and academic treatises have been
analyzed in detail, with findings showing differences in the use, origin and frequency of
nominalizations in these three types of texts (see Section 6.3). Remedy books belonged to
the vernacular tradition and were intended for a wider audience, read not only by doctors
but also by the middle classes. Surgical treatises, in turn, were learned texts compiled by
doctors and used mainly by surgeons and trainee surgeons. However, since their use was
mainly practical, they were not considered to be learned works. By contrast, academic
treatises were used to teach at universities, and sometimes dealt with very specific topics;
thus, their audience was learned and specialized.
Chapter 5 described the methodology followed in this dissertation. In order to
analyze the behaviour and frequency of nominalizations in Early Modern scientific
writing, and their possible variation according to writing tradition and audience, two
corpora were selected, the Penn-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Early Modern English and
Early Modern English Medical Texts. The latter contains a selection of medical texts
covering the whole picture of medical writing at the time, from the most popular to the
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most academic, which made it possible to work on the variables of writing tradition and
audience.
Section 5.1.3 was devoted to text sampling. With PPCEME, only the texts
belonging to the genres Science/Medicine and Science (Other) from the Helsinki and Penn
1 parts of the corpus were selected. As for EMEMT, a selection of texts from the categories
Remedy books, Surgical treatises and Academic treatises were chosen. All these texts were
taken into account in calculating the frequency of nominalizations and analyzing the kinds
of dependents they took in the EModE period. However, in order to look at the influence
of factors such as audience and writing tradition, only the texts from EMEMT were used.
As for the number of texts analyzed, a previous pilot study looking at the frequency
of nominalizations in scientific texts was carried out as a means of establishing the number
of words required in our corpus. The study showed that the frequency of nominalizations
in scientific writing was high, and thus the number of words scanned was set at c. 250,000.
Section 5.2 was devoted to the description of the suffixes analyzed in this study
from a semantic and morphological point of view. The suffixes –ing, –(at)ion, –ment,
–ance, –age, –ure and –al have been catalogued as the most frequent to create action
nouns in EModE (cf. Nevalainen 1999, Banks 2003). These suffixes were also employed
to identify nominalizations in texts here, using the WordSmith 3.0 Concordance. The use
of this corpus tool meant that data retrieval was greatly simplified. However, it also
produced false hits that needed to be discarded manually.
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Section 5.3 described the classification of nominals which would be used in the
analysis in Chapter 6. These were classified according to three different parameters,
namely, constituents of the NP (i.e. the nominal head as the sole constituent, only pre-head
dependents, only post-head dependents, and both pre- and post-head dependents), their
function in the superordinate sentence (i.e. subjects, objects, predicatives, complements of
a preposition, supplements or modifiers, and absolute position), and their internal syntax
(i.e. nominal, verbal or mixed). Finally, Section 5.3.2 dealt with the resolution of
difficulties that arose in the classification of nominalizations. Thus, nominalizations in
coordinated structures were statistically treated as independent units when the coordinated
structure showed ellipsis but where it could be safely assumed that the dependents were
shared by all the nominal heads. However, when the structures were asymmetric, this
assumption could not be proved and in such cases they have been treated independently. It
was also shown that –ing formations modified by locative (here, at home) and temporal
(today, at night) adverbials could be either nominal or verbal. Therefore, if there were no
other dependents that could determine their nature, these formations were classified as
ambiguous. If –ing formations were modified by manner or quantifying adverbs, they were
classified as verbal. In the case of items such as only, right and just, which could be either
adjectives or adverbs, they were classified as ambiguous if no other dependents clarified
their nature. Finally, –ing formations deriving from prepositional and phrasal verbs were
understood as deriving from the combination of the base verb plus the particle, and thus
the particle would not be counted as a post-head dependent of the nominalization.
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Chapter 6 reported on the empirical work that was intended to complement Chapter
3. It offered a thorough description of the use of –ing and Romance nominalizations in
Early Modern scientific writing. Section 6.1 gave an overview of the evolution and use of
nominalizations at the time. The corpus study indicated that both –ing and Romance
nominalizations were on the rise in scientific texts. This increase in their frequency of use
was more remarkable in the case of Romance nominalizations, which was explained as a
result of the need for the vernacular to adapt for use in the scientific register. For example,
the lack of terms related to art was overcome by the use of these formations, especially so
in the case of Romance nominalizations, which were adopted from prestigious languages
at the time such as French and Latin.
However, other factors contributed to make nominalizations so attractive for
scientific discourse in EModE times. For this reason, analyzes of their structural and
syntactic properties were carried out in sections 6.1.2 and 6.2.3, respectively. The
examination of structural variability in nominals revealed that the increase in the number
of nominalizations did not apply to all the structural types in the same way. Thus, in the
case of –ing nominalizations, the decrease of nominal formations in any type of phrase ran
in parallel with an increase of verbal –ing forms, especially those having only post-head
dependents (bringing the Lips of the Wound exactly together). However, Romance
nominalizations were observed to behave in a different manner, and were preferred in
structures having both pre- and post-head dependents. Therefore, the analysis pointed
towards a possible specialization of the –ing suffix to be used in verbal nominalizations.
The gap left by nominal –ing nominalizations was filled by Romance nominals.
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Taking into account the differences in the kind of phrase of both –ing and Romance
formations, it seemed important to consider also the constituents of these phrases.
Interestingly, the kind of pre- and post-head dependents taken by the head nominalization
varied according to the kind of nominal. As with the type of phrase, the kind of pre-head
dependents taken by –ing formations differed considerably depending on the nature of the
nominalization in question. Hence, nominal –ing formations were usually found with
determiners, and adjectives and possessives to a lesser extent. In contrast, verbal –ing
formations were hardly ever found with pre-head dependents. Romance nominalizations in
turn followed the same trend as nominal –ing forms, with determiners, adjectives and
possessives being the preferred options.
As for post-head dependents, once again we see that verbal –ing nominalizations
behave differently from nominal –ing and Romance nominalizations. Whereas the verbal
–ing forms were generally followed by NPs, nominal –ing and Romance nominalizations
were followed by of-PP[object]s and of-PP[subject]s. The kind of post-head dependents
used by nominals appeared to be related to their nature. Thus, nominal –ing and Romance
nominalizations were nouns properly speaking and therefore could not take NPs as posthead
dependents, whereas verbal –ing formations could, being strongly reminiscent of the
pattern of a verb followed by a DO. There were also mixed –ing forms, having the prehead
dependents used with nouns, but NPs as their post-head dependents. This wide range
of possibilities accounted for the structural complexity of nominalizations at the time.
Section 6.1.3 was devoted to the analysis of the syntactic behaviour of
nominalizations. As already noted, the use of nominalizations increased during the EModE
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period. However, it was also made clear that this increase did not affect all nominalizations
in the same manner. The productivity of the suffixes was also analyzed according to
variables such as their frequency and transparency, in Section 6.1.4. Results showed that
–ing is the most frequent suffix in the nominalizations found in the corpora. It was
combined with both native (working, seeking) and non-native bases, especially Romance
ones, creating hybrids such as crossing and evaporating, but also with bases from ON,
such as mistaking. This indicates that the suffix was transparent, in the sense that speakers
used it to create new action nouns. As for Romance suffixes, their frequency increased
enormously during the EModE period, the most frequent being –(at)ion. However, this
suffix always appeared attached to Romance bases (attraction, suppuration), which made
it difficult to determine whether these formations were created in English following Latin
patterns or if they had been borrowed (Section 6.2 tried to shed some light on this issue).
The suffix –al was not found in nominalizations from either corpora, and the other
Romance suffixes were considered marginal if compared to –(at)ion due to their much
lower frequencies. Of particular interest was that all hybrids found were formed with these
low-frequency suffixes (ailment, hindrance, tarriance and tillage).
Since in languages complete synonymy is usually not allowed, the existence in my
data of 102 doublets of the kind declaring and declaration, both deriving from the same
verbal base but each presenting a different suffix, needed explaining. Hence, Section 6.1.5
sought reasons for the co-existence of both forms. For this, factors such as their
chronology, the frequency of the elements of the doublet, and the kind of dependents they
took were taken into account. As for their chronology, it was found that the earlier element
of the doublet was, in the majority of cases, the Romance one. Most of these formations
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had been introduced in the ME period, with those appearing in EModE being especially
frequent in E1 and E2. This was taken as evidence that Romance formations may have
been adopted as a whole in English and, once assimilated in the vernacular, their bases
were used to create new formations from native suffixes. The most frequent element of the
doublet was also usually the Romance element. This is not surprising, since Romance
formations in general showed a higher token frequency than native formations (see Section
6.1.4). As for their structural preferences, –ing formations appear mainly with only posthead
dependents (NPs) whereas Romance formations can take both pre- and post-head
dependents. It is perhaps this proximity to the verbal structure of –ing formations that
made them convey a stronger sense of activity than Romance action nouns. Although close
in meaning, both –ing and Romance forms could co-exist since –ing forms were mainly
used to fill a gap in syntax that could not be covered by Romance formations. This very
gap is the possibility of combining with NPs without the requirement of a preposition.
The dramatic increase of Romance nominalizations during the EModE period, as well
as the difficulties when trying to distinguish the method of acquisition (Nevalainen 1999:
397), justified the necessity of Section 6.2. This section sought to analyze how these
formations became part of the English language, as well as to clarify the factors that might
have favoured them becoming part of the vernacular. With these aims in mind, variables
such as their bases and the chronology of their formation were taken into account.
Hence, Section 6.2.1 established the earliest attestations of these formations by
using the OED and the MED. If a particular form was attested earlier in my corpora than in
these two sources, then this prior date was naturally the one taken into consideration. Data
from this section has clarified that, contrary to what might have been expected, most of
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these Romance formations were already part of the English vocabulary in ME. It must be
conceded that some of them were attested in E1 and E2, coinciding with the peak in
borrowing as dated by Görlach (1991: 137) and Barber (1997 [1976]: 222). However, it is
clear that the majority of these formations were adopted into English before the great
lexical expansion that took place in the EModE period (Finkenstadt et al. 1970). Section
6.2.2 then attempted to clarify the main method of acquisition of these words. As already
noted, significant difficulties arose in distinguishing between borrowing and suffixation
following Latin patterns. However, it was established that both Romance nominalizations
attested in English at an earlier stage than the corresponding verbs and Romance
nominalizations having no corresponding verb in English could be considered borrowings.
Romance nominalizations having a Romance suffix but a native base were regarded as
English coinages on Latinate patterns, and those Romance nominalizations attested later
than their corresponding verbs, or attested in the same year, were considered as
indeterminate. Following the analysis of the data here, it was established that most of the
terms were borrowings from Latin and French. This finding is in line with those of
Nevalainen (1999: 351) and Görlach (1991: 155). The scarcity of English coinages was
explained by the fact that the range of environments in which a Romance suffix was
allowed was somehow more restricted than those of the native –ing.
Section 6.2.3 tried to assess the possible influence of translation in the adoption of
Romance nominalizations. For this purpose, the normalized frequencies of these
formations in translations were compared with those in texts originally written in English.
It is true that the small amount of data here precludes any absolute statements. However,
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what can be claimed is that there is no clear, demonstrable influence of translation in the
borrowing of Romance nominalizations at the time. A possible explanation for the similar
number of Romance formations in both translations and English texts is that authors
writing English surgical treatises were learned and thus would have had a good command
of classical languages. Thus, they used Latin texts as a model and filled any gaps in the
vocabulary of the vernacular by using these Romances terms.
It is widely acknowledged that scientific writing was heterogeneous due to the
wide variety of topics and audiences treated (Halliday and Martin 1993: 54). Table 8 in
Section 6.1.1 showed that there were differences in the frequency of nominalizations
according to the nature of texts. Therefore, a closer analysis of the possible variation in the
use of nominalizations according to variables such as audience and text category was
required. Section 6.3 served this purpose. Here three categories of medical texts were
chosen, remedy books, surgical treatises and academic treatises. On the popular-learned
continuum, remedy books are the most popular text type and academic treatises the most
learned. All the texts analyzed in this section were drawn from the EMEMT.
As expected, findings showed that there were significant differences in the
frequency and origin of the nominalizations used in these categories of medical writing.
Thus, remedy books showed the lowest number of nominalizations and academic treatises
the highest. It was also noticeable that Romance nominalizations were used far more in
both surgical and academic treatises than in remedy books. This could be explained in
terms of audience and writing tradition. Remedy books had a popular, literate audience for
whom specialized terminology such as Romance nominalizations might prove to be
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obscure. However, the learned audiences of both surgical and academic treatises were far
more likely to have a sound understanding of these difficult words. Furthermore, whereas
remedy books had been written in the vernacular since OE times, surgical and academic
treatises were originally written in Latin and, once they started to be composed in the
vernacular, authors persisted in using Latin texts as models, favouring the use of Romance
formations.
Section 6.3 also revealed that Romance nominalizations increased over the EModE
period, even in remedy books, and that they were used in surgical and academic treatises
even when there was a native equivalent available. Thus, it was concluded that Romance
formations were not adopted only because of their functionality, but also for stylistic
reasons; they conveyed more connotations than native formations (Blake 1992b: 507), and
they began to be regarded as markers of scientific style.
Section 6.3.2 considered the kind of bases used in the formation of nominalizations
in the three categories of medical writing. Findings showed that lexical richness was
closely related to the intended audience. Thus, surgical and academic treatises showed the
widest variety of bases employed in the formation of nominalizations, which implies that
learned audiences could handle a richer vocabulary than popular audiences. When bases
were analyzed in terms of the suffix they combine with, it was clear that the highest
number of bases was that used with the native –ing in all categories of medical writing.
This suggests that –ing was the most productive suffix at the time. Specific bases were
more common in categories intended for learned audiences.
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Finally, as expected, some bases were found in all three categories of medical
writing, whereas other bases were specific to a particular category. When bases were
shared by texts for popular and learned audiences, they were usually everyday words like
stand, drink and so on, whereas bases shared only by learned texts were overwhelmingly
Romance (e.g. discover, compromise). This, again, was related to the level of knowledge
expected of the audience.
This dissertation has offered a thorough analysis of action nominalizations in
EModE, focusing on their development and use in scientific texts. As for their
development, –ing nominalizations evolved to a more verbalized structural pattern, in
which the preferred structure was that of –ing forms having only post-head dependents
(NPs). However, this was a gradual process and at the time nominal, mixed and verbal
–ing formations co-existed. The gap left by the increasingly infrequent nominal –ing
nominalizations was filled by Romance formations. As regards their use, it has been shown
that this differed according to variables such as audience and text category. As far as their
function is concerned, it has been shown that nominalizations began to be used as
grammatical metaphors in the packaging and distribution of information, in that they were
very useful for the agglutinative style of scientific writing. However, apart from this
primary structural function, nominalizations developed a second one: they became markers
of scientific style.
In the present dissertation it has been possible to draw a number of conclusions
relating to nominalizations. However, other questions have also been raised, and these
might usefully be the object of further research. It has been demonstrated here that factors
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such as audience and writing tradition have an impact on the use of nominalizations in
scientific writing. It would also be interesting in light of this to work with a corpus of texts
from several authors containing both scientific published texts and private letters to peers,
as a means of seeing whether register influences the use of nominalizations.
Finally, certain findings from the study have suggested that authors used previous
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263

APPENDIX
APPENDIX: ACTION NOMINALIZATIONS ATTESTED IN THE CORPORA
Nominalization Abiding
Base
Abide (v)
Definition OED Abiding n. 5. Patience; endurance, forbearance; submission.
Also with of.
Earliest attestation c1384 (OED)
Example
Laste foloweth the shorte abidinge, a certeine Token of the
disease to be in the spirites, as wel may be proved by the
Ephemere that Galene writethe of, (...). Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Abolition
Base
< Middle French, French abolition (...) < abolit–, past participial
stem of abolēre (to abolish) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Abolition n. 1. a. The action or process of abolishing
something; the fact of being abolished or done away with;
suppression, destruction, annihilation; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1529 (OED)
Example
As for the Abolition of the Magnetical vertue in a body endow’d
with it, it may be made without destroying the Substantial or the
Essential Form of the body, (...). Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Abscession
Base
< classical Latin abscēssiōn–, (...) < abscēss–, past participial
stem of abscēdere (to abscede) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Abscession n. 2. Med. Originally: †an abscess (obs.). In
later use (Veterinary Med.): abscess formation (cf. abscessation
n. ‘The condition of having abscesses; the development of
abscesses’)
Earliest attestation 1583 (OED)
Example
(...) and strew for this powder vpon your Pledgets, for the cure of
the outward Abscession, which likewise troubled him greatly,
(...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Absorbing
Absorb (v)
The assimilation of an entity to make it a part of a larger one.
OED Absorb v. 2. trans. To include or incorporate (a thing) so
that it loses its separate existence; to assimilate; (now) esp. take
control of (a smaller or less powerful entity) and make it a part of
a larger one. Chiefly with into, †of, in. Freq. in pass.
1666 (EMEMT)
265

APPENDIX
Example
(...) but it’s rather an Absorbing (sucking up) or devouring of the
parts by Corrupting their Fundamentals, whereby every part doth
not only shrink, but grows sensibly less in its substance (...).
Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Abstaining
Base
Abstain (v)
Definition OED Abstaining n. The act, practice, or condition of keeping
oneself or refraining from something. Now largely superseded by
abstinence. Cf. Abstinence n. 1., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1395 (OED)
Example
(...) but several who by the use of my Medicins, bin totally freed
from them, and that without Blood-letting, or abstaining from
Flesh or Wine; (...). Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Abstinence
Base
< Anglo-Norman and Old French abstenence, (...) < abstinent–,
abstinēns , present participle of abstinēre (to abstain) + –ia
Definition OED Abstinence n. 1. The practice or discipline of resisting selfindulgence;
self-restraint. a. Restraint in one's choice or
consumption of food, abstemiousness; (also) the practice or
discipline of fasting.
Earliest attestation ?c1225 (?a1200) (OED)
Example
The said Marcour may likewise be caused [^p.11^] by Famine or
over abstinence from food. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Acceptation
Base
< Anglo-Norman acceptacioun, (...) < classical Latin acceptāt–,
past participial stem of acceptāre (to accept) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Acceptation n. 2. The action or fact of receiving something
favourably; (of a situation, action, or thing) the fact of being
received favourably; positive reception, approval. Also: belief in
or agreement with an idea, theory, statement, etc. Now rare.
Earliest attestation a1425 (c1395) (OED)
Example
In which action you neede not feare any great perrill of Fluxe of
bloud, but that it may easily bee restrained with my restringent
powder, published in my last booke of Obseruations, which hath
of a number of good Artistes a friendlye acceptation: (...).
Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Accommodation
Partly < Middle French, French accommodation (…) < past
participial stem of accommodāre (accommodate) + –iō (–ation),
266

APPENDIX
and partly < accommodate + –ation.
Definition OED Accommodation n. 1. b. gen. Adaptation, adjustment,
modification; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1612 (OED)
Example
Mixtures are also sometimes made of a more thick consistency,
not much unlike that of ordinary Opiates, which is for the
accommodation of such Patients, as cannot take Remedies in
Drink. Charas, Royal.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Accomplishing
Base
Accomplish (v)
Definition OED Accomplishing n. The action of accomplish; an instance of
this. Cf. also Accomplishment n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1405 (c1390) (OED)
Example
Now I will set downe Examples and Instances for the Cure of the
said Malady, the which I haue obserued and gathered as
heereafter ensueth for the perfection and accomplishing of the
before named first Intention (...). Clowes, Artificiall
Tokens 2
Nominalization Accomplishment
Base
< Anglo-Norman accomplessement (…) < lengthened stem of
accomplir , acomplir (to accomplish) + –ment
Definition OED Accomplishment n. 1. a. The action or fact of accomplishing
something; fulfilment, completion; achievement, success. Also:
an instance of this. Cf. Accomplishing n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1425 (OED)
Example
And because it was little in quantitie, nature hath added to it
cruded blood, to the accomplishment of sufficient quantity, and
is lapped in a senowy pannicle. Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Aching
Base
Ache (v)
Definition OED Aching n. The action of ache; continuous dull pain; an
instance of this, a painful throbbing.
Earliest attestation a1400
Example
Also yf this herbe be stamped/ and tempered with rennynge
water/ it heleth the akynge of a mannes guttes/ & many other [^f.
A3r^] euylles. Anonymous, Grete.
Tokens 11
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Acting
Act (v)
OED Acting n. 3. The process of performing an action;
267

APPENDIX
performance, execution. Cf. also Action n. 13., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1596 (OED)
Example
(...) but that it may rather be the effect of a Material Effluvium,
issuing from, and returning to, the Electrical Body and perhaps
in some cases assisted in its Operation by the external air seems
agreable to divers things that may be observ’d in such Bodies
and their manner of acting. Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Action
Base
< Anglo-Norman accioun, (…) < āct– past participial stem of
agere (to do) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Action n. 13. The exertion of force or influence by one
thing on another; influence, effect; agency. Cf. also Acting n. 3.,
in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
(...) and if you raise the magnetic needle to the upper part of the
Bar, and apply it as before this will draw the Northern extream,
which theother end of the bar expelled; probably because as ‘its
elsewhere declared, the bar is in tract of time, by the continual
action of the Magnetical effluvia of the Tarraqueous Globe, (...).
Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 22
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Adding
Add (v)
OED Adding n. The action of add (in various senses); an instance
of this. Cf. also Addition n. 3., in same sense.
a1400 (a1391) (OED)
(...) this is an excellent syrup, for either by adding or
deminishing Simples here unto, according to the Infirmities and
nature thereof it may serve for any grosse matter in any cold
distemper. Wood, Alphabetical.
4 (3 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Addition
Base
< Anglo-Norman addicioun (…) < past participial stem of
addere (to add) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Addition n. 3. gen. a. The action, process, or fact of adding
something to something else; the joining of one thing to another
so as to increase it or alter it in some way. Cf. Adding n., in same
sense.
Earliest attestation 1440
Example
Such are the Juices of Senna, Rhubarb, Angelica, Liquorice,
Hellebore, &c. which are drawn forth by the addition of Liquor,
and which being filter’d, are evaporated over a small fire; (...).
Charas, Royal.
268

APPENDIX
Tokens 8
Nominalization Administration
Base
< Anglo-Norman administracioun , (…) < past participial stem of
administrāre (to administer) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Administration n. 1. The action, or (occas.) an act, of
administering or giving something to a person. Freq. with of.
Earliest attestation a1350 (a1333) (OED)
Example
I suppose that maister Yates knoweth that the ende or intention of
Chirurgery, is to heale all suche curable infirmities, as are to be
cured by the office and dewe administration of the hande. Gale,
Institution.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Admiration
Base
< Middle French admiracion, (…) < past participial stem of
admīrārī (to admire) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Admiration n. 1. The action or an act of wondering or
marvelling; wonder, astonishment, surprise. Now rare.
Earliest attestation c1425 (OED)
Example
(...) they are apt in a very short time to lose their flesh, so as to
counterfeit Anatomies, and afterwards upon the least
intermission of their Medicines to impinguate (grow fat) to
admiration; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Admitting
Admit (v)
OED Admitting n. The action or an act of accepting or receiving a
person or thing; admittance. Cf. also Admission n. 4. a., in same
sense.
a1504 (OED)
But for my part, I confess, I see no necessity of admitting this
supposition; (...). Boyle, Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Admission
< Anglo-Norman admission, (…) < past participial stem of
admittere (to admit) + –iō (–ation)
OED Admission n. 4. a. An act of admitting a person to an
institution, group, etc.; an instance of being admitted, esp. to an
educational or medical institution. Cf. also Admitting n., in same
sense.
1423 (OED)
(...) but in the admission of one to learne oure arte, is to be noted
the gyftes of nature, & also education from hys infancye. Gale,
Antidotaire.
269

APPENDIX
Tokens 1
Nominalization Admixtion
Base
< classical Latin admixtiōn–, (…) < admixt–, past participial stem
of admiscēre (to admixt) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Admixtion n. Now rare. = admixture (cf. admixture n. ‘The
action or process of mixing one substance with another; the
addition of another element; the fact or condition of being mixed
with something else’). Also: an instance of this.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
The unnaturall is made either in respect of it selfe, or by
admistion of other humors. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 5
Nominalization Adorning
Base
Adorn (v)
Definition OED Adoning n. Adornment, ornamentation, decoration; an
instance of this. Also: the action or fact of decorating or adding
ornamentation to something.
Earliest attestation 1495 (OED)
Example
(...) I wolde geue none example or comforte to my countrie men,
(...) to stonde onely in the Englishe tongue, but to leaue the
[^f.5r^] simplicite of the same, and to procede further in many
and diuerse knoweleges bothe in tongues and sciences at home
and in vniuersities, to the adournyng of the common welthe,
better seruice of their kyng, & great pleasure and commodite of
their owne selves, to what kinde of life so euer they shold applie
them. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Adustion
Base
< Middle French adustion (…) < adust–, past participial stem of
adūrere (to adure) + -iō (–ation)
Definition OED Adustion n. †1. a. The action or process of burning,
scorching, or parching; desiccation; (Surg.) cauterization,
moxibustion. Obs.
Earliest attestation ?a1425 (OED)
Example
(...) for as yet possible the blud is not altogether comixed with the
adustion of the cholericke qualitye of the Ague. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 5
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Advisement
< Anglo-Norman avysement, (…) < aviser (to advise) + –ment
OED Advisement n. 1. b. Advice or guidance as to what action to
take; counsel; (also) a piece of advice.
1409 (OED)
It is thought vnfit by diuers learned men to blister Childrens
270

APPENDIX
heads with Cantharides, it hath been seene to cause much paine
and pissing of bloud: but to doe it by aduisement, either with
Mustard or with Nettles, is good. Clowes, Artificall.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Affection
Base
Affect (v)
Definition OED Affection n. 7. An abnormal bodily state; a disease; a
medical complaint or condition. Now usu. with of or modifying
word indicating the site of the disease.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
(...) I take theym not to Sweate by this Sickenesse, but rather by
feare, heate of the yeare, many clothes, greate exercise,
affection, excesse in diete, or at the worst, by a smal cause of
infection, and lesse disposition of the bodi to this sickness. Bright,
Melancholy.
Tokens 7
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Agglutinating
Agglutinate (v)
The action or process of encouraging or accomplishing the
apposition or adhesion of the surfaces of a wound during healing
by medical or surgical means.
Cf. Agglutinate v. 2. Med. To bring about the union of (a wound
or its surfaces) by natural, medical, or surgical means; (also) to
cause adhesion, or the formation of adhesions, between (parts or
surfaces of the body). Cf. also Agglutination n. 1. a, in same
sense.
1666 (EMEMT)
(...) and thus you see the Infant grows bigger out of the Womb, by
agglutinating one affllux of blood to another. Harvey, Morbus.
1 (verbal gerund)
Agglutination
< (i) Middle French, French agglutination, (…) < classical Latin
agglūtināt–, past participial stem of agglūtināre (agglutinate) +
–iō (–ation)
OED Agglutination n. 1. Med. and Surg. a. Apposition or
adhesion of the surfaces of a wound during healing; the action or
process of encouraging or accomplishing this by medical or
surgical means; an instance of this. In later use also: adhesion, or
the formation of adhesions, between surfaces within the body; an
instance of this. Cf. also Agglutinating n., in same sense.
?1541 (OED)
(...) I drest him up; and afterwards here in Town cured him by
Sarcoticks and Epuloticks, as in Compound Wounds; a longer
271

APPENDIX
work, which at first ought to have been done by Agglutination.
Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Agitating
Agitate (v)
OED Agitating n. The action of agitate. Cf. also Agitation n. 1. a.,
in same sense.
1645 (OED)
For ‘tis known, that Heat, by agitating the parts of a fit Body,
solicites it as it were to send forth its Effluvia, as is obvious in
odoriferous Gums and Perfumes, which, being heated, send forth
their fragrant steams, (...). Boyle, Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Agitation
Base
< (i) Middle French, French agitation (…) < agitāt–, past
participial stem of agitāre (to agitate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Agitation n. 1. a. The state or condition of being moved
backwards and forwards repeatedly; commotion, disturbance,
perturbation; an instance of this. Cf. also Agitating n., in same
sense.
Earliest attestation 1547 (OED)
Example
To which I answer, that having several times tried, by the most
violent Agitation of many fluid Bodies in inclosed Vessels, I
could never perceive the least warmth; (...). Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 7
Nominalization Agreement
Base < Anglo-Norman and Middle French agreement, (…) <
agréer (to agree) + –ment
Definition OED Agreement n. 1. b. gen. The action of agreeing or of
coming to an understanding about something. Also: the result of
this; an arrangement or mutual understanding negotiated between
two or more parties.
Earliest attestation 1427-8 (OED)
Example
(...) and unless both the vital Faculties and nourishment of the
Part do assist the Art of the Chirurgeon, it will be lost labour:
here must be a joynt meeting and agreement of all in one.
Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Ailment
Ail (v)
OED Ailment n. 2. As mass noun: the fact of ailing; physical or
mental distress or indisposition; illness, poor health. Now
somewhat rare.
272

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation 1676 (EMEMT)
Example
The next morning he complained he had not slept that night, that
he was faint and sick, and that his Wound was the least of his
ailment. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Alienation
Base
< (i) Anglo-Norman alyenacion, (…) < alienāt–, past participial
stem of alienāre (to alienate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Alienation n. 2. Derangement of mental faculties or
processes; madness, insanity; delirium; an instance or episode of
this. In later use more fully mental alienation.
Earliest attestation a1425 (c1325) (OED)
Example
What is Alienation? [}Ioh.{] It is an inordinate perturbation of
the mind, with diuersity of speech, whereof there are two kinds,
proper, and accidentall: (...). Lowe, Art.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Allowing
Allow (v)
OED Allowing n. 1. The action or an act of permitting or
enabling.
a1402 (OED)
I could scarce ever cure any of them without allowing them
Wine; and thereby their Spirits were kept up, and I had the liberty
to bleed them as I thought fit. Wiseman, Wounds.
1 (verbal gerund)
Altering
Alter (v)
OED Altering n. The action of alter (in various senses); an
instance of this. Cf. also Alteration n. 1., in same sense.
?a1425 (OED)
All which, being the several Subjects of Wounds, may well be
allowed to specifie them; and so much the rather, because from
the nature of them we raise our greatest Indications of altering
the method of Cure. Wiseman, Wounds.
5 (4 of them verbal gerunds)
Alteration
< Anglo-Norman and Middle French alteracion, (…) < alterat–,
past participial stem of alterare (to alter) + classical Latin –iō (–
ation)
OED Alteration n. 1. a. The action or process of altering or being
altered; an instance of this. Cf. also Altering n., in same sense.
a1398 (OED)
273

APPENDIX
Example
All dolour maketh alteration of [/65./] humors and bloud, which
maketh inflammation, for the [^p.292^] which foment the place
with oyle of Roses, with the white of an egge, if the dolour be
great, stupifie the part with oyle of Poppie and Opium, (...).
Lowe, Art.
Tokens 10
Nominalization Alternation
Base
< Anglo-Norman alternacioun (…) < alternāt–, past participial
stem of alternāre (alternate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Alternation n. 1. a. The action or an instance of two things
succeeding each other by turn; alternate succession or occurrence.
Earliest attestation c1443 (OED)
Example
The same being tolde mee, me thought it was a strange
alternation: howebeit, I did take their good speeches very kindly,
and so would haue done still, if ti had pleased them to continue in
the same good opinion of me, or to haue bin silent. Clowes,
Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Amputation
Base
< Latin amputātiōn-em (…) < amputā-re (to amputate)
Definition OED Amputation n. 2. esp. The operation of cutting off a limb or
other projecting part of the body. Also attrib.
Earliest attestation 1617 (OED)
Example
Thirdly, the amputation of a limme by reason of a mortification,
or some other accident. Here shall be set downe the most
accurate method of dismembring. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Anatomizing
Anatomize (v)
OED Anatomizing n. The process of dissecting; anatomization.
(Now mostly gerundial.)
1579 (EMEMT)
In seeing & reading that which hath bene written by auncient
Doctors, and by experience, in deuising and Anatomising the
deade corpses. Chauliac, Qvydos.
1 (verbal gerund)
Annoyance
< Old French anuiance, (…) < anuiant present participle of
anuyer (to annoy) + (–ation)
OED Annoyance n. 1. The action of annoying, vexing, troubling,
molesting, or injuring; molestation.
c1386 (OED)
(...) but when it is dead, the spirit returning to God, who gave it,
274

APPENDIX
he ceaseth not to be officious to it, in dissecting of it, for the
instruction of himselfe and others, and preserving it from
putrefaction and annoyance, untill time and place fit for burying
of it be offered: (...). Read, Workes.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Anointing
Anoint (v)
OED Anointing n. 1. gen. The action of applying grease or oil to
the surface of the body. (Often gerundial.)
1303 (OED)
Of Costus both sorts, being roots coming [^p.8^] from beyond
sea, hot and dry, break wind, being boild in oyle it is held to help
the gout by anointing the greived place with it. Culpeper,
London.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Apertion
Base
< Latin apertiōn-em, n. of action < aperīre (to open)
Definition OED Apertion n. Obs. 1. The action of opening.
Earliest attestation 1602 (PPCEME)
Example
In the vse of these outward Incisions, this scope ought chiefly to
be regarded, that is: to be very circumspect in your handy
operations, attempted & done concerning the cure of this great
Malady: That is, the apertion or opening by launcing or Incision
of those glandulous Tumours. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Apostemation
Base
< Old French apostemation, (…) < apostēmāri
Definition OED Apostemation n. Obs. 1. The formation of an ‘apostem’ or
abscess; the gathering of matter in a purulent tumour; festering.
Earliest attestation 1578 (OED)
Example
For I have known pieces of Splinters, &c. sometimes stick so fast
in the inward Parts, or to have been so inclosed, that we could by
no means get them out: yet at length, upon Apostemation of the
Part, they have thrust forth. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Appearance
< Old French aparance, (…) < appārēnt-em, present participle of
appārē-re (to appear)
OED Appearance n. 1. The action of coming forward into view
or becoming visible. Cf. also Appearing n., in same sense.
c1400 (OED)
The temperature, age, sex, region, season, and constitution of the
time, wounds in the nerues, tendons, ioynts, and bones, without
275

APPENDIX
appearance of tumor or euill signes and sheweth the humor to
haue taken the course to the noble parts. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Appearing
Base
Appear (v)
Definition OED Appearing n. The action of coming in sight, appearance; the
action of formally coming before a tribunal, etc.; an appearance.
Cf. also Appearance n. 1., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1375 (OED)
Example
And lykewise there is two manners of consolydation, one is true,
that is when both the partes of the thing that is dissolued by
seperating, and reassembled and knit without any manner of
appearing of the dissolution afore, and without any meanes.
Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Application
Base
< Middle French application, (…) < applicāt–, past participial
stem of applicāre (to apply) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Application n. 2. a. The administration or employment of a
therapeutic treatment or a medicinal substance; spec. the
spreading of a medicated ointment or lotion on the skin; an
instance of this; a medication applied in this way. Cf. Applying n.
2. a., in similar sense.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
In the application of this, it becomes every Chirurgeon to be
much experienced, in [^p.343^] respect of the unspeakable
commodities which the whole Art receiveth thereby. Wiseman,
Wounds.
Tokens 13
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Applying
Apply (v)
OED Applying n. 2. a. The action of bringing one thing into
physical contact with another; an instance of this. Cf. Application
n. 2. a., in similar sense.
?a1425 (OED)
(...) we may, [^p.24^] by applying the Thermometer, not only
know how far the blood has exceeded its natural motion and
warmth, but even, in other cases, how much it has fallen from
them too; (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
4 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Appointment
< Old French apointement (to appoint) + (–ment)
OED Appointment n. 6. The action of ordaining or directing what
276

APPENDIX
is to be done; direction, decree, ordinance, dictation.
Earliest attestation c1440 (OED)
Example
(...) so gentle medicines taken in due time, doe great good to the
sight; which I doe leaue to the appointment and direction of a
learned Phisition. Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Approaching
Approach (v)
OED Approaching n. The action of coming or drawing near;
spec. in Mil., Hort. and Golf = approach.
c1386 (OED)
And this power of approaching the Cushion by vertue of the
operation of its own steams, was so durable in our vigorous piece
of Amber, that by once chafing it, I was able to make it follow the
Cushion no less than ten or eleven times. Boyle, Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Approbation
Base < French approbation, < Latin approbātiōn-em, n. of action <
approbāre
Definition OED Approbation n. †1. The action of proving true;
confirmation, attestation, proof. Obs. Cf. Approving n., in same
sense
Earliest attestation 1393 (OED)
Example
THE Royal Pharmacopœa; GALENICAL AND CHYMICAL,
According to the PRACTICE Of the Most Eminent and Learned
PHYSITIANS OF FRANCE, And Publish’d with their several
Approbations. Charas, Royal.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Approving
Approve (v)
OED Approving n. The action of testing, proving; or confirming,
sanctioning; approbation; probate. Cf. Approbation n. †1., in
same sense.
1523-5 (OED)
Thirdly for that I thought it beste to auoide the iudgement of the
multitude, from whome in maters of learnyng a man shalbe
forced to disssente, in disprouyng that whiche they most approue,
& approuyng that whhiche they moste disalowe. Caius,
Sweatyng.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Articulation
Base Partly < classical Latin articulation (…) < (to articulate) +
(–ation)
277

APPENDIX
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens 1
OED Articulation n. 1. a. Anat. and Zool. Connection (of bones
or skeletal segments) by a joint; the state of being jointed; a
manner of jointing.
?a1425 (OED)
Chirurgirie is a parte of terapentike helinge men by insition,
vstion, & articulation. Gale, Antidotaire.
Nominalization Ascension
Base
< Latin ascensiōn-em, n. of action < ascens– participial stem of
ascendĕre (to ascend) + –ation
Definition OED Ascension n. 1. gen. The action of ascending, upward
movement.
Earliest attestation 1593-1594 (PPCEME)
Example
First knowing the Sunnes place, you shall learne the right
ascention therof thus. Blundevile, Cosmographie.
Tokens 21
Nominalization Assation
Base
< French assation (16th cent.), n. of action < Latin assāre (to
roast), < assus (roast)
Definition OED Assation n. ? Obs. Roasting or baking.
Earliest attestation 1605 (OED)
Example
I Shall not here stay upon Juices or Liquors which ay be drawn
out of Animals, as Blood, Flegm, Urine, Serosities, Sweat, &c.
Nor upon those which may be drawn from their parts by
assation, pressing, or otherwise, as the Gravies, and Liquors of
Meats, &c. Charas, Royal.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Assaulting
Base
Assault (v)
Definition OED Assaulting n. Hostile onset, attack, assault.
Earliest attestation 1548 (OED)
Example
Uery necessary for everye personne and much requisite to be had
in the handes of al sortes, for their better instruction, preparation
and defence, against the soubdein comyng, and fearful
assaultyng of the same disease. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Assignation
< Old French assignacion (14th cent. in Littré), < Latin
assignātiōnem, n. of action < assignāre (to assign) + –ation
OED Assignation n. 1. The action of allotting; apportionment.
1543 (EMEMT)
And Auicenna sayeth in the same chapitre that the synnowes
278

APPENDIX
whych ben ioyned in wih the muscles take part of them, and
Haliabbas is of the same opinion in the seconde boke of the
assignation of the ligamentes, and chordes. De Vigo, Excellent.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Assimilation
Base
Probably < French assimilation, < Latin assimilātiōn-em, n. of
action < assimilāre (to assimilate); but it may have been taken
directly from the Latin.
Definition OED Assimilation n. 1. a. The action of making or becoming like;
the state of being like; similarity, resemblance, likeness.
Earliest attestation 1605 (OED)
Example
(...) it is necessary also there shoulde concurre in the place
nourished, an altering vertue; and as such assimilation is
necessarie, n like manner an apt matter may not be to seeke, fit
for such generation. Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Assistance
Base
< French assistance, < assister (to assist) + –ance
Definition OED Assistance n. 3. a. The action of helping or aiding in an
undertaking or necessity; furtherance, succour; also, the help
afforded, aid, support, relief. Formerly often in pl.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
(...) he was brought to a very low condition; yet I know not what
odd fancy possest him who was call’d to his assistance, to take
from him 12 or 14 ounces of [^p.17^] blood at that time, and I
think repeated it next day, (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Astonishment
Base
Astonish (v)
Definition OED Astonishment n. †1. a. Loss of physical sensation,
insensibility; paralysis, numbness, deadness. Obs.
Earliest attestation 1543 (mirar med ou corpus)
Example
Or yf it be of an euyll humour than it causeth astonishement, and
the Palsie. De Vigo, Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Astriction
< Latin a(d)strictiōn-em, n. of action < astringĕre (to astringe)
OED Astriction n. 1. The action of binding or drawing close
together, esp. the soft organic tissues; the state of being thus
bound; constriction; constipation.
1568 (OED)
Which are the signes of spasme? [}Ioh.{] Difficile moouing of the
body, tention of the necke, contraction of the lippes, astriction of
279

APPENDIX
the iawes, (...). Lowe, Art.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Attaining
Attain (v)
OED Attaining n. 1. The action of getting at by continued effort;
reaching, acquiring.
a1568 (OED)
(...) I will shew in the first [/3./] place how imperfect and useless
the advices of our great Masters ar in this affair, and then inform
the Reader, what other ways are to be taken for attaining a
greater certainty, (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Attending
Attend (v)
OED Attending n. The action of attend; attendance, attention.
1611 (OED)
(...) for it’s no rare observation here in England, to see a fresh
[/4./] coloured lusty young man yoak’d to a Consumptive Female
(Wife,) and him soon after attending her to the Grave. Harvey,
Morbus.
1 (verbal gerund)
Attracting
Attract (v)
OED Attracting n. The action of drawing; attraction. Cf.
Attraction n. †3., in similar sense.
1563 (OED)
(...) whereby the spirits being rendred dull, stupid, languid
(fainting), and suppressed, are deserted (left) incapable of
ventilating (breathing) and purifying the blood, and debilitated
(weakened) in attracting (drawing) nutriment for the parts,
which consequently must wither and shrink. Harvey, Morbus.
6 (4 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Attraction
Base < French attraction, 16th cent. (in 13th cent. attration ), or <
Latin attractiōn-em, n. of action < attrahĕre (to attract) + –ation
Definition OED Attraction n. †3. Med. The action of drawing humours, etc.;
concr. an application that so draws, a poultice, etc. Cf. Attracting
n., in similar sense.
Earliest attestation ?1541 (OED)
Example
The third cause is, for that the feet are more in motion than other
parts, and the nature of motion is, to make attraction of humors
unto the moved part, and consequently a paine. Holland, Gutta.
280

APPENDIX
Tokens 17
Nominalization Attrition
Base
< Latin attrītiōn-em, n. of action < attrīt– and –ation
Definition OED Attrition n. 1. The action or process of rubbing one thing
against another; mutual friction.
Earliest attestation 1601 (OED)
Example
Thus we see, that most Resinous Gums, that draw light bodies, do
also, bieng moderately solicited by heat, whether this be excited
by the fire, or by Attrition or Contusion emit steams. Boyle,
Magnetism.
Tokens 7
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Augmenting
Augment (v)
OED Augmenting n. Augmentation, increase. (Now gerundial.)
1537 (OED)
(...) Potable Gold (aurum potabile, or Gold Chymically reduced
to a liquor, or a thin oyle, thereby being render’d potable, or fit
to be dranck) contains a vertue of recruiting or augmenting
Natures Essentials; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
3 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Avoiding
Avoid (v)
OED Avoiding n. The action of emptying or getting rid of (obs.),
of making void or invalid, of shunning or keeping aloof from;
avoidance.
a1513 (OED)
With the same you maye also make you a swete house in castynge
it abrode therin, if firste by auoidynge the russhes and duste you
make the house clene. Caius, Sweatyng.
6 (3 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Baking
Base
Bake (v)
Definition OED Baking n. 1. The action of the verb bake; the process of
preparing bread; the hardening or ‘firing’ of earthenware.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
I therefore go furth with my diete, wherin my counseill is, that the
meates be helthfull, and holsomly kylled, swetly saued, and wel
prepared in rostyng, sethyng, baking, & so furth. Caius,
Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Bandage
281

APPENDIX
Base
< French bandage, < bande (band) and –age
Definition OED Bandage n. 1. b. abstr. = bandaging (cf. Bandaging n. ‘1.
The action or art of applying bandages’)
Earliest attestation 1676 (EMEMT)
Example
If the [/16./] Wound be small, and in a Fleshy part, & according
to the length of the Fibres or Member, you may perform the Cure
by Bandage; (...). Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 8
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Bearing
Bear (v)
OED Bearing n. 1. a. The action of carrying or conveying.
c1384 (OED)
Either by way of oppresing a part, when as a grosse humor
weighing downe a part ponderously, causeth it to greeve in
bearing the burden thereof: (...). Holland, Gutta.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Beating
Base
Beat (v)
Definition OED Beating n. 1. a. The infliction of repeated blows; spec. the
action of inflicting blows in punishment; the dashing of waves
against the shore; the whipping up of a fluid; the flapping of
wings; rousing of game, exercising the brain, etc.
Earliest attestation ?c 1225 (?c1200) (OED)
Example
In beating of it be very speedy, for the strength will quickly fly
out. Culpeper, London.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Becoming
Become (v)
OED Becoming n. 2. A coming to be, a passing into a state.
1697 (EMEMT)
(...) bleeding may actually dispose the blood for becoming better,
by pomoting the secretions, [^p.15^] and recovering its colour
and strength in almost as short a time as they were lost.
Cockburn, Continuation.
1 (verbal gerund)
Beginning
Begin (v)
OED Beginning n. 1. a. The action or process of entering upon
existence or upon action, or of bringing into existence;
commencing, origination.
a1225 (OED)
Hetherto I haue shewed the beginning, [/2./] name, nature, &
282

APPENDIX
signes of this disease: nowe I will declare the causes, which be ij:
infection, & impure spirities in bodies corrupt by repletion.
Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 31
Nominalization Beheading
Base
Behead (v)
Definition OED Beheading n. The action of cutting off the head; spec. of
execution by decapitation.
Earliest attestation ?c1225 (?c1200) (OED)
Example
As did Mundy and Boloine, and as lykewise did maser Bertuce,
that when hee had a dead body by beheading or otherwise, he
layd him on a bench in making foure particions. Chauliac,
Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Being
Be (v)
OED Being n. 2. a. Existence, the fact of belonging to the
universe of things material or immaterial. Also as a count noun
(rare).
1340 (OED)
Lastly, the diminution of parts must be latent (hidden,) not caused
by an overlabouring, or want of sleeep, or by being over liberal
in satisfying Womens impertinences, the causes whereof as they
are externally obvious, so they imply no Consumption; (...).
Harvey, Morbus.
29 (20 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Belking
Base
Belk: Obs. and dial. form of belch
Definition OED Belking (in Belk v.) n. and adj. (applied to the gout). Cf.
Belching n. The action of voiding wind from the stomach through
the mouth; eructation; also, the utterance of foul or violent
language; the eruptive action of volcanoes.
Earliest attestation 1616 (EMEMT)
Example
And as belkes doe ease the stomacke, so much belking giueth
occasion that fumes doe arise to the fore-part of the head,
whereby the sight may be harmed. Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Bending
Bend (v)
OED Bending n. 2. a. Curving, crooking, flexure; bowing,
inclination, deflection.
1398 (OED)
(...) for the smaller pores of the Wood being perfectly wedg’d,
283

APPENDIX
and stuft up with those stony particles, the small parts of the
Wood have no places or pores into which they may slide upon
bending, and consequently little or no flexion or yielding at all
can be caus’d in such a substance. Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Binding
Base
Bind (v)
Definition OED Binding n. 1. a. The action of bind in various senses.
Earliest attestation a 1240 (OED)
Example
Thys feuer cometh for the thickenes and binding of the meates or
ways of the pores [/26./] in the body & flesh, and as Fuctius vpon
Galen sayeth eyther the small meates obstructed or wynking, or
also the body moderately thycked and bounde, (...). Jones, Dial.
Tokens 7
Nominalization Biting
Base
Bite (v)
Definition OED Biting n. 1. a. The action of bite in its various senses.
Earliest attestation c1175 (OED)
Example
And fear of water may come from internal humors without the
biting of any mad creature. Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 29
Nominalization Blasting
Base
Blast (v)
Definition OED Blasting n. †b. Flatulence; breaking of wind. Obs.
Earliest attestation a1475 (OED)
Example
It is good to be laid to serpigo or wilde fire, all inflamations and
hot tumours, wheales, and hote blisters of the mouth, and with
eye medicines to heale inflamations, blastings and swellings of
the eyes being applied. Langham, Garden.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Bleeding
Bleed (v)
OED Bleeding n. 1. a. The flowing or dropping of blood (from a
wound, etc.); hæmorrhage.
c1385 (OED)
[}To stop the Bleeding at Nose.}] Take Cumfry, and put it into
the Nostrils, or receive the smoak thereof. Woolley, Supplement.
25 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Blistering
Blister (v)
OED Blister n. The action or result of blister.
284

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation 1563 (OED)
Example
This vnguent is for iche of the leggs and inflamation, excoriation,
burning and blisteringe, comminge of whote humours, and for
whote and sharpe vlcerations. &c. Gale, Antidotaire.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Bloodletting
Base
Blood + letting
Definition OED Bloodletting n. 1. The action or process of extracting blood
(from a person, animal, vein, or part of the body) for (supposed)
therapeutic purposes; spec. = phlebotomy n. 1; an instance of this.
Also: the act of undergoing this procedure or fact of having
undergone it; an instance of this. Now hist.
Earliest attestation OE (OED)
Example
(...) but several who have bin ill manag'd before, and thrown into
violent Fevers, have in 24 hours, by the use of my Medicins, bin
totally freed from them, and that without Blood-letting, or
abstaining from Flesh or Wine; (...). Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Blowing
Base
Blow (v)
Definition OED Blowing n. 1. a. gen. The action expressed by the vb. to
blow
Earliest attestation c1000 (OED)
Example
(...) by means of which, be the Coal never so long, you may easily
blow through it; and this you may presently find, by wetting one
end of it with Spittle, and blowing at the other. Hooke,
Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Boiling
Boil (v)
OED Boiling n. 3. a. The action of heating a liquid to boiling
point; of subjecting (anything) to the action of a boiling liquid,
esp. so as to cook it; of making or obtaining some substance by
this process.
c1380 (OED)
If Acrimony of humours, boiling of the blood, want of rest and
sleep, accompany Diseases of the Lungs and brest, you may add
to the Emulsions two drams of white Poppy-seed, and as much
Lettice-seed, and change the Syrup of Violets, and Venus-hair
into those of White-poppy and Water-Lillies. Charas, Royal.
18 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Boring
Bore (v)
285

APPENDIX
Definition OED Boring n. The action of piercing, perforating, making a
bore-hole, etc.; also concr. = bore-hole
Earliest attestation c1440 (OED)
Example
After the application of this kind of Boring or Ventoses, then
presently I applyed vpon his swelling this Vnguent, and these
Plaisters following. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Bowing
Base
Bow (v)
Definition OED Bowing n. 1. a. Bending, curving, twisting; flexure,
inclination.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
If it had bene sensible, he mighte not haue suffred the labour and
mouing of the ioynts: and if it had not ben flexible of his bowing,
one lymme should not haue moued without another. Vicary,
Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Boxing
Base
Box (v)
Definition OED Boxing n. †2. The applying of ‘boxes’ or cupping-glasses in
surgical treatment; cupping. Hence boxing-glass: a cupping-glass.
Obs.
Earliest attestation 1519 (OED)
Example
(...) I do not se what is more to be desired: excepte it ware some
treatise, in whiche might be comprehended the arte of
phlebotomie or lettynge of blode, and also of scarification, and
boxinge whiche I hope (God grauntynge hym lyfe) he wyll
hereafter fit out. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Bragging
Base
Brag (v)
Definition OED Bragging n. The action of brag.
Earliest attestation 1399 (OED)
Example
You may read of bragging [^p.4^] Lamech, Gen. 4, 23. who
boasted of murthering. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Breaking
Break (v)
OED Breaking n. The action of break.
c975 (OED)
(...) it is styreth so longe that it semeth Epatye or Cycotryne/ so
yn scantly is ony difference to be seen/ but it is knowen in the
286

APPENDIX
Tokens
brekynge/ for than it stynkyth/ and so dooth not the other two.
Anonymous, Newe.
7 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Breathing
Base
Breathe (v)
Definition OED Breathing n. 1. a. Exhalation and inhalation of breath;
respiration; a single act of respiration.
Earliest attestation 1377 (OED)
Example
(...) it concocts raw humors in the stomach, helps difficulty of
breathing is profitable for all salt humors, the root dried and
beaten into pouder and the pouder put into the eye, is a special
remedy for a pin and a web. Culpeper, London.
Tokens 6
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Breeding
Breed (v)
OED Breeding n. 2. fig. Origination, production, development.
1389 (OED)
All which do not one way procure the Gout, but some by
breeding the matter thereof, some by procuring the deflux of the
matter, some by weakning the joynts, making them subject to the
deflux. Holland, Gutta.
3 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Brewing
Base
Brew (v)
Definition OED Brewing n. 1. a. The action, process, or occupation
described under brew n. 1
Earliest attestation 1467 (OED)
Example
Which ale I thinke better to be made with grout according to the
old order of brewing. Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Bringing
Bring (v)
OED Bringing n. 1. A causing to come to a point of reference or
to a state (see various senses of the verb).
1433 (OED)
But som may object, How is it possible, without bringing the
Wound to Suppuration, to cause a discharge of extraneous
Bodies, as pieces of Clothes, Splinters of Bones, &c. which for
the most part are lodg’d in Gunshot Wounds?. Colbatch, Novum.
7 (4 of them verbal gerunds)
Bringing up
287

APPENDIX
Base
Definition
Bring up (v)
The action of rearing from childhood.
Cf. Bring v. Bring up 2. To rear from childhood; to educate,
breed.
Earliest attestation 1563 (EMEMT)
Example
(...) also the institution and bringynge up from the childhode, is
resembled to the castynge of seade into the grounde in dewe and
conuenient tyme (...). Gale, Institution.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Bruising
Base
Bruise (v)
Definition OED Bruising n. 1. a. Crushing or damaging with a heavy blow;
also (obs.) breaking in pieces, breaking; also fig.
Earliest attestation a1382 (OED)
Example
These Juices are drawn almost from all parts of the Plants; some
by cutting the bark, to be afterwards dry’d in the Sun, as are the
Juices of Scammony, Aloes and Poppy: Others by bruising and
pressing. Charas, Royal.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Bunching
Base
Bunch (v)
Definition OED Bunching n. The action of the verb bunch.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
Now bunchings or stickings out of the parts of the body, are
threetold: for either they are [/26./] natural, and then they serve
for the comliness of the body, and further the actions, as we may
see in the Head, Belly, Joints, the [/27./] Thighs, Calves of the
Legs, and Armes: Or they only pass the ordinary dimensions of
some parts, (...). Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Burning
Burn (v)
OED Burning n. The action of burn in its various senses.
a1300 (OED)
Furthermore, watches, crudity, sadnes, feare, anger, greate cares
of the minde, burning of the sun, cold, famine, drunkennes (...),
of these and such lyke causes which may kindle the spirits is this
Feuer engendred. Jones, Dial.
27 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Bursting
Burst (v)
288

APPENDIX
Definition OED Bursting n. 1. a. The process or action of breaking suddenly
and violently, as under tension.
Earliest attestation c1440 (OED)
Example
It is good for them to eate of it that haue the bursting of the guts.
Langham, Garden.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Burying
Bury (v)
OED Burying n. 1. a. The action of entombing a dead body or
anything similarly treated; burial, interment.
1297 (OED)
(...) but when it is dead, the spirit returning to God, who gave it,
he ceaseth not to be officious to it, in dissecting of it, for the
instruction of himselfe and others, and preserving it from
putrefaction and annoyance, untill time and place fit for burying
of it be offered: (...). Read, Workes.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Calculating
Base
Calculate (v)
Definition OED Calculating n. The action of calculate; calculation: chiefly
attrib., as in calculating-engine, calculating-machine, calculatingmachinery,
etc.
Earliest attestation 1593-1594 (PPCEME)
Example
(...) therefore Georgius Purbachius, and Regio Montanus his
Scholer to auoide that trouble of calculating by Astronomicall
fractions, diuided the diameter of a Circle into a farrre greater
number of parts, (...). Blundevile, Briefe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Calling
Base
Call (v)
Definition OED Calling n. I. The action of call.
Earliest attestation a1400 (a1325) (OED)
Example
(...) after a easye callynge thinges to mynde whiche he haue
harde or sene, and laste a lyuelye and sharpe redynes in findynge
and inuentynge remedyes. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Casting
Base
Cast (v)
Definition OED Casting n. The action of the verb cast in various senses. 1.
a. trans. Throwing, throwing up; ejection, vomiting; calculation;
swarming (of bees); arranging, etc. esp. the action or process of
founding (metal or glass).
289

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
1340 (OED)
The ioyce of this herbe and it be put in the eeres of a man/ it wyll
slee the wormes in a mannes heed/ and conforteth the stomake/
and helpeth to defy it. And it withdraweth castynge. Anonymous,
Grete.
4 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Catching
Base
Catch (v)
Definition OED Catching n. a. The action of catch, in various senses.
Earliest attestation 1297 (OED)
Example
And considering withall its malignity and catching nature, it may
be connumerated (numbred) with the worst of Epidemicks
(popular diseases,) since next to the Plague, Pox, and Leprosy it
teilds to none in point of Contagion (catching;) for it’s no rare
observation here in England, (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Causing
Cause (v)
OED Causing n. The action of cause. (Now chiefly gerundial.)
1651 (OED)
(...) but accidentally they may do it, by causing an intestin motion
or fermentation, wherby the Cement of the Blood being loosned,
and its Texture much spoiled, this Flame is at liberty to burn
more furiously. Colbatch, Novum.
1 (verbal gerund)
Chafing
Chafe (v)
OED Chafing n. The action of the verb chafe, in its various
senses.
1398 (OED)
A branch or rod thereof caried in the hand, defendeth the bearer
from chafing and wearinesse. Langham, Garden.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Charring
Base
Char (v)
Definition OED Charring n. The action of char; burning to charcoal. Also
attrib.
Earliest attestation 1665 (PPCEME)
Example
Thirdly, from the Experiment of charring of Coals whereby we
see that notwithstanding the great heat, and the duration of it, the
solid parts of the Wood remain, (...). Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 4
290

APPENDIX
Nominalization Choosing
Base
Choose (v)
Definition OED Choosing n. The action of choose in various senses;
selection, adoption, picking out, electing, etc.
Earliest attestation c1200 (OED)
Example
And yf the Mason Carpenter and Smythe, be so curious and
dyligent, in knowyng, chosyng, and consyderynge of stones,
tymber, and yron, whyche be thynges of no great valour or
estimation: (...). Gale, Institution.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Circulation
Base < French circulation or Latin circulātiōn-em, noun of action <
circulāre (to circulate)
Definition OED Circulation n. The action of circulating.
Earliest attestation 1535 (OED)
Example
(...) I can hardly forbear running out into a long digression
concerning some noble Theorems about the great and different
effects of bleeding, that depend entirely upon the infinitely useful
demonstration of the circulation of the Blood, that crowd into my
thoughts; (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Circumspection
Base
< Old French circumspection (...) < circumspicĕre
Definition OED Circumspection n. 1. The scanning of surrounding objects
or circumstances, careful or wary looking about one; the faculty
of doing this.
Earliest attestation 1387 (OED)
Example
I graunt it tollerable and very conuenient, to vse in this Cure the
due applycation of Potential Cauteries, such as whose propertye
and seruice is to corrode the flesh & the skin, and may with very
good circumspection very safely be attempted, (...). Clowes,
Artificiall.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Circumvolution
Base
n. of action, < Latin circumvolvĕre, cirumvolūt– (to roll round)
Definition OED Circumvolution n. 1. a. Rolling, whirling, or turning round
an axis or centre; revolution, rotation, gyration.
Earliest attestation 1447 (OED)
Example
Let the length be such as the Member affected and the multitude
of circumvolutions [/25./] require; longer in Winter than in
Summer. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
291

APPENDIX
Nominalization Cleansing
Base
Cleanse (v)
Definition OED Cleansing n. 1. The action of cleanse in its various senses;
cleaning, purification, acquittal.
Earliest attestation c1000 (OED)
Example
I am heere also in this place for the clensing and strenghtning of
the eies especially to commend vnto you the frequent vse of old
and cleere white wine, in which the Calaminar stone hath beene
oftentimes extinguished: (...). Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens 7
Nominalization Cleaving
Base
Cleave (v)
Definition OED Cleansing n. a. The action of cleave; splitting.
Earliest attestation c1000 (OED)
Example
(...) put for euery spoonfull, a peece of a leafe of Golde cut of
purpose: caste them vpon a leafe of white Paper, annointed
fyrste with the Oyle of sweete Almonds, or sweete butter for
cleauing too. Langham, Garden.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Climbing
Climb (v)
OED Climbing n. 1. The action of climb.
1487 (OED)
(...) and indeed this contrivance of the feet is very curious, and
could not be made more commodiously and compendiously, for
performing both these requisite motions, of walking and
climbing up the hair of a mans head, (...). Hooke, Life.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Clogging
Base
Clog (v)
Definition OED Clogging n. 1. The action of the verb clog; encumbering,
obstruction, etc.; also concr. that which clogs.
Earliest attestation 1640 (OED)
Example
AN Hypochondriack Consumption is an extenuation of the fleshy
parts, occasioned by an infarction (clogging and over filling,)
and obstruction of the Spleen, pancreas, mesaraick, and
Stomachick Vessels, through melancholly, or gross, dreggish,
tartarous humours; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Closing
Close (v)
OED Closing n. 1. a. The action of close, in various senses;
292

APPENDIX
shutting; enclosing; drawing together; ending, etc.
Earliest attestation 1382 (OED)
Example
And Haly Abbas sayth, there be .xij. Muscles that moue the
nether Iawe, some of them in opening, and oher in closing or
shutting, passing vnder the bones of the temples, And they be
called Temporales. Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Coagulation
Base
< French coagulation (...), < coāgulā-re (to coagulate)
Definition OED Coagulation n. 1. a. The action or process of coagulating
(as it takes place in albumen, blood, milk, etc.); clotting, curdling,
‘setting’.
Earliest attestation c1477 (OED)
Example
That this petrify’d Wood having lain in some place where it was
well soak’d with petrifying water thaat is, such a water as is well
impregnated with stony and earthy particles did by degrees
separate, either by straining and filtration, or perhaps, by
precipitation, cohesion or coagulation, abundance of stony
particles from the permeating water, (...). Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Coaling
Base
Coal (v)
Definition OED Coaling n. †1. Conversion into charcoal. Obs.
Earliest attestation 1602 (OED)
Example
Now, that the Charring or coaling of a body is nothing else, may
be easily believ’d by one that shall consider the means of its
production, which may be done after this, or any such manner.
Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Cogitation
Base
< Old French cogitaciun, (...) < Latin cōgitātiōn-em, n. of action,
< cōgitāre (to think)
Definition OED Cogitation n. 1. a. The action of thinking or reflecting;
attentive consideration, reflection, meditation.
Earliest attestation ?c1225 (?a1220) (OED)
Example
In cares & thoughtes they be caried to the heade, in the which
they be lesse wasted for the scarsitye of heate, then in the
inward body, wherfore they do lesse drye, and than the habit or
forme of the same hollownes with drinesse of the eyes, signifieth
both to be affected, but in cares and cogitacions lesser, for the
spirits and humors be lesser stirred, in sorowe greater. Jones,
Dial.
Tokens 1
293

APPENDIX
Nominalization Cohesion
Base
< French cohésion, (...) < cohæs– participial stem of cohærēre (to
cohere)
Definition OED Cohesion n. 1. The action or condition of cohering;
cleaving or sticking together; spec. the force with which the
molecules of a body or substance cleave together.
Earliest attestation 1675-1676 (PPCEME)
Example
(...) or whether the Effect were not due rather to the Emission
and Retraction of Effluvia, which being of a viscous nature may
consist of Particles either branch’d or hookt, or otherwise fit for
some kind of Cohesion, and capable of being stretch’d, and of
shrinking again, as Leather Thongs are; (...). Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Collection
Base
< Old French collection (...) < colligĕre (to collect)
Definition OED Collection n. 1. The action of collecting or gathering
together; e.g. in Post Office use, the gathering of letters from
receiving-houses, and pillar-boxes, into the Chief Office for
dispatch or delivery.
Earliest attestation a1387 (OED)
Example
And heere I must needs say, according to my poore ability I haue
my self been very industrious for the common benefit, and good
of others, truly to set downe diuers approoued remedies of mine
own collection: (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Colligation
Base
< obsolete French colligation, (...) < colligāre (to colligate)
Definition OED Colligation n. †1. Material binding together, connection.
Obs.
Earliest attestation 1502 (OED)
Example
(...) for the Chyrurgions that be ignoraunt in the Anatomie, maye
erre in many manners in their incision of sinues and their
knittings, the which if they knew the nature of euery member,
their setting and collygation that they haue in all the body, and
with euery onely member perticular, if it did happen that they
were hurt they should know if y=e= sinewes were cut or not.
Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Colliquation
< French colliquation
OED Colliquation n. Obs. 1. The action or process of melting
together.
1617 (OED)
The first denomination, to wit Phthisis, an Athenian word, is
294

APPENDIX
generally taken for any kind of an universal diminution
(lessening) and colliquation (melting) of the body, which
acception its Etymology (derivation) [^p.8^] [^GREEK
OMITTED^], to consume, implyes; (...). Harvey, Preseruation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Colouring
Base
Colour (v)
Definition OED Colouring n. 1. a. The action or process of applying colour
to something; the imparting of colour. Also: an instance of this.
Earliest attestation ?a1425 (OED)
Example [^Beginning of a list in three columns.^] Blacke to colour 4
Burnings 5 Colouring 2 Feete sore 3 Fleaes 4 Impostumes 1
Inflamation 2 [^A column change.^] . Langham, Garden.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Combing
Base
Comb (v)
Definition OED Combing n. 1. The action of the verb comb.
Earliest attestation 1575 (OED)
Example
(...) Auicenna writeth that the combing of the head is not of least
[/66./] force, which ought to be done euery morning fasting
backwardes against the haire for it draweth the vapours out of
the head, and remoueth them from the sight. Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Combination
Base
< Old French combination (...) < combīnāre (to combine)
Definition OED Combination n. 1. gen. The action of combining or joining
two or more separate things into a whole.
Earliest attestation 1543 (EMEMT)
Example And in euery membre of mans bodye, after the opinion of
Auerroys, and Alexandrinus, and other Anatomistes, nyne
thynges are to be consydered, that is to wete, the composition,
the substaunce, the complexion, the quantite, the nombre, the
fygure, the combination or knyttynge together, theyr naturall
effectes and vtilities, and what dyseases may happen to the sayd
membres. De Vigo, Excellent.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Comforting
Comfort (v)
OED Conforting n. The action of the verb comfort, in various
senses: Consolation; †strengthening, †encouragement, etc.
c1320 (OED)
In co~fortyng the spirites also, and by alterynge the aier with
swete odoures of roses, swet perfumes of the same, rosemary
295

APPENDIX
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
leaues, baies, and white sanders cutte, afewe cloues steped in
rose water and vinegre rosate, the infection shalbe lesse noious.
Caius, Sweatyng.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Coming
Come (v)
OED Coming n. 1. The action of come in various senses: drawing
near, approaching; arrival, advent.
c1300 (OED)
Take of Pure Capons Grease, very well Clarified, the quantity of
a Nutmeg, and twice as much pure Honey, mingle and
incorporate them well together, and three or four times in a day
anoint the Childs Gums, when they are Teething, and they will
break flesh easily, and prevent Torments and Agues, and other
Griefs, which usually accompany their coming forth. Woolley,
Supplement.
7 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Comixtion
Base Formed on co– prefix ‘together,’ ‘in company’ + mixtion n.
[Latin & Old French]
Definition The act or process of mixing or blending together.
Earliest attestation 1398 (MED)
Example
[}Pet.}] What is euill complexion? [/61./] [}Ioh.}] It is an euill
comixtion of the foure humors, when one raigneth more than
another, as was sayd in the first Booke. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Commandment
Base
< Old French com–, commandement (...) < commandāre (to
command)
Definition OED Commandment n. †4. The action or fact of commanding;
bidding, command. Obs.
Earliest attestation c1386 (OED)
Example
And did not Ezechiel by the commaundement of God, shewe the
Citizens of Hierusalem that the third part of the~ should die with
the pestilence. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Commendation
< Old French commendation, (...) < commendāre (to commend)
OED Commendation n. †1. Giving in charge, entrusting,
committal.
1583 (OED)
And therfore it is not without good cause, that the parts greeued
296

APPENDIX
be rightly ordred & defended, whereby you shall be sure the
better to effect your intended purpose without the said perrill or
daunger but with the highest commendation in preuenting the
euil that otherwise might ensue (...). Clowes, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Commotion
Base
< Old French com(m)ocion (...) < commovēre (to commove)
Definition OED Commotion n. 2. a. Physical disturbance, more or less
violent; tumultuous agitation of the parts or particles of any thing;
of the sea: turbulence, tossing.
Earliest attestation 1592 (OED)
Example
For the Attrition having caus’d an intestine commotion in the
parts of the Concrete, the heat or warmth that is thereby excited
ought not to cease, as soon as ever the rubbing is over, but to
continue capable of Emitting Effluvia for some time afterwards,
(...). Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Communication
Base
< Anglo-Norman communicacioun, (…) < commūnicāt–, past
participial stem of commūnicāre (to communicate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Communication n. 5. a. The action of communicating
something (as heat, feeling, motion, etc.), or of giving something
to be shared; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation c1384 (OED)
Example
And undoubtedly this office hath been performed by most,
laudably, and fruitfully to the praise of the Hall, and mutuall
communication of skill, for the better performing of duties,
which so high a Calling doth require. Read, Workes.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Comparing
Base
Compare (v)
Definition OED Compare n. The action of the verb compare; comparison.
Earliest attestation 1489 (OED)
Example
Bee it so, yet therefore no consequence of reason can inferre,
that nature respecteth not anie aptnes of matter: for in a manner
al things of the earth hath some thinge Alimentarie and
pasturable for all liuing creatures, which may euidently appeare
by comparing of nature. Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Compassing
Compass (v)
OED Compassing n. The action of the verb compass.
a1300 (OED)
297

APPENDIX
Example
Tokens
Now 'tis the uncertainty of the Sweating Medicins we use for
compassing our design of evacuation that occasions this great
difficulty in our first intention, because sometimes they are given
without any success, but heighten the Pulse, and encrease the
other severe symptoms we see in Fevers; (...). Cockburn,
Continuation.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Competition
Base
< Latin competītiōn-em (...) < competĕre (to compete)
Definition OED Competition n. 1. a. ‘The action of endeavouring to gain
what another endeavours to gain at the same time’ (Johnson); the
striving of two or more for the same object; rivalry. Now largely
used in connection with competitive examinations.
Earliest attestation a1608 (OED)
Example
(...) if our Patient be troubl'd with a Distemper that proceeds
from too much blood, and we desire to be so nice, as to relieve
him of all the offending quantity, and not to impair his strength,
or having others sicknesses that require Phlebotomy for their
cure, and the strength of the patient comes in competition, so
that is never to be injur'd; (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Composition
Base
< French composition, (...) < compōnĕre (to compose)
Definition OED Composition n. 1. The action of putting together or
combining; the fact of being put together or combined;
combination (of things as parts or elements of a whole).
Earliest attestation c1386 (OED)
Example
For the Grecians dyd call vnguentes onely aromatick oyles,
wherewyth they dyd annoynt the body. The Cerotes they called
suche medicynes as receyued into their composition oyle and
waxe. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 7
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Compression
< French compression, (...) < comprimĕre (participial stem
compress–) (to compress)
OED Compression n. 1. a. The action of compressing; pressing
together, squeezing; forcing into a smaller compass; condensation
by pressure.
c1400 (OED)
(...) a wise Physician easily foresees that the vessels of those
parts that come first to the ground, will be considerably
comprest, and that by this compression the blood cannot move so
easily through those parts, and by its stopping there, will produce
terrible symptoms, according to the greatness of the
298

APPENDIX
compression, and the office of the part whose vessels are thus
compress'd: (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Comprising
Comprise (v)
The action of enclosing.
Cf. Comprise v. 4. Of things material: †a. To take in within its
space; to enclose, to hold. Obs.
1603 (OED)
And as the sinewes that proceede of the noddle, taketh forme of
muscle at the necke and at the breast, & then commeth to the
ioynt of the shoulder. And becommeth rounde strings and
spreading flat in comprising al the ioynt, and doe plant them in
the bone of the ioynt and moueth it. Chauliac, Qvydos.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Computation
Base < Anglo-Norman and Middle French computation (...) <
computāt–, past participial stem of computāre (to compute) + –iō
(–ation)
Definition OED Computation n. 1. a. The action or process of computing,
reckoning, or counting; arithmetical or mathematical calculation;
an instance of this.
Earliest attestation c1425 (OED)
Example
Therefore I wil now go to the fourth especial cause of infectio~,
the pent aier, breaking out of the ground in yearthquakes, as
chaunced at Uenice in the first yeare of Andrea Dandulo, then
Duke, the .xxiiii. day of Januarye, and xx. hour after their
computacion. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Conceiving
Base
Conceive (v)
Definition OED Conceiving n. The action of conceive; conception.
Earliest attestation a1340 (OED)
Example
Fyrst is the redye and good conceyuynge: then a firme and sure
memorye, nexte a sounde and ryght iudgement, after a easye
callynge thinges to mynde whyche he haue harde or sene, and
laste a lyuelye and sharpe redynes in findynge and inuentynge
remedyes. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Conception
< French conception (...) < concip-ĕre, concept– (to conceive)
OED Conception n. 1. a. The action of conceiving, or fact of
being conceived, in the womb.
299

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation a1300 (OED)
Example
But Rudius decides the controversie in saying, they are properly
poysons which are such of their own nature, and not such as by
conception become enemies to our bodies. And true poyson is
only that which is bred without the body. Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Concluding
Conclude (v)
OED Concluding n. The action of the verb conclude. Cf. also
Conclusion n. 5. c., in similar sense.
1530 (OED)
Without therefore concluding any thing from this Experiment,
save that, if the assertion I was to examin were true, the want of
an Electrical faculty might be thought a Concomitant rather of
the peculiar Texture of the Emrald than of its green colour, (...).
Boyle, Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Conclusion
Base
< French conclusion, < Latin conclūsiōn-em, n. of action from
conclūdĕre (to conclude)
Definition OED Conclusion n. 5. c. The action of concluding or inferring.
Rare. Cf. also Concluding n., in similar sense.
Earliest attestation 1532 (OED)
Example
But in conclusion, they meane all one thing; For the very truth is,
that there be counted and reckoned seuen Tunikles, that is to say,
Sclirotica, secondyna, Retyna, Vnia, Cornua, Arania, and
Coniunctiva: (...). Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Concoction
Base
< Latin concoctiōnem (...) < concoquĕre (to concoct)
Definition OED Concoction n. 1. †b. The old physiology recognized three
processes: first concoction, digestion in the stomach and
intestines; second concoction, the process whereby the chyme so
formed is changed into blood; third concoction, secretion.
Earliest attestation ?1531 (OED)
Example
The second internall cause of the Gout is [/57./] the humor
phlegmatick, which is next unto blood, for that it is indeed a
crude or inconcocted blood, and in time of hunger and hard fare
it is by better concoction converted into a profitable blood for
the maintenance of the body. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 13
Nominalization
Base
Concursion
< Latin concursiōn-em, n. of action < concurrĕre (to concur)
300

APPENDIX
Definition OED Concursion n. ? Obs. Running or rushing together;
concourse.
Earliest attestation 1533 (OED)
Example
The reason is, lest in the Cauterized parts, there chaunce to come
concursion, or gathering together of humours. Clowes,
Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Concussion
Base
< Latin concussiōnem, n. of action < concutĕre (to concuss)
Definition OED Concussion n. 1. a. The action of violently shaking or
agitating; particularly, the shock of impact.
Earliest attestation 1490 (OED)
Example
So that, these things considered, we need not trouble our selves
to find out what kind of Pores they are, both-8 in the Flint and
Steel, that contain the Atoms of fire, nor how those Atoms come
to be hindred from running all out, when a dore or passage in
their Pores is made by the concussion: (...). Hooke, Life.
Tokens 5
Nominalization Condensation
Base
< Latin condensātiōn-em, n. of action < condensāre (to condense)
Definition OED Condensation n. 2. spec. The conversion of a substance
from the state of gas or vapour to the liquid, or (rarely) to the
solid, condition.
Earliest attestation 1603 (OED)
Example
Our Microscope will easily inform us, that the whole mass
consists of an infinite company of small Boxes or Bladders of Air,
which is a substance of a springy nature, and that will suffer a
considerable condensation as I have several times found by
divers trials, (...). Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Conference
Base
< French conférence (...) < confer-re (to confer)
Definition OED Conference n. 4. a. The action of conferring or taking
counsel, now always on an important or serious subject or affair;
‘the act of conversing on serious subjects, formal discourse’
(Johnson); but formerly in the more general sense of:
Conversation, discourse, talk. in conference, engaged (in a
conference), busy (orig. U.S.).
Earliest attestation 1555 (OED)
Example
(...) I continued for the space of 9. Moneths: & since & before I
haue had conference, & also often practised, with the best and
skilfullest Chyrurgians, both English and Strangers, within the
City of London and else where: (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
301

APPENDIX
Nominalization Confirmation
Base
< Old French confirmation (...) < Latin confirmātiōn-em, n. of
action from confirmāre (to confirm)
Definition OED Confirmation n. 1. a. The action of making firm or sure;
strengthening, settling, establishing (of institutions, opinions,
etc.).
Earliest attestation 1520 (OED)
Example
As a confirmation of the Truth of the two last Experiments, every
body knows, that Mint, and such like Plants, being set in a Bottle
of Water, flourish as much, or more than those planted in the
Earth. Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Conformation
Base
< Latin conformātiōn-em, n. of action from conformāre (to
conform)
Definition OED Conformation n. 1. a. The action of conforming or bringing
into conformity (to); adjustment in form or character to some
pattern or example; adaptation.
Earliest attestation ?1530 (OED)
Example
But this your judgement will teach you to alter, according to the
conformation, shape and positure of Parts. Fasten not your
Rowler by tying a knot; nor yet sow it upon the Wound, or where
you cannot easily come at it again; lest you hurt your Patient.
Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Consequence
Base < French conséquence (...), < Latin consequentia, n. of state <
consequent-em
Definition OED Consequence n. 2. a. The action or condition of following
as a result upon something antecedent; the relation of a result or
effect to its cause or antecedent.
Earliest attestation 1525 (EMEMT)
Example
All the Lattin names to one Herb are not set down, that would
have done no other good in the world than took up more paper,
and by consequence made the Book the dearer. Culpeper,
London.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Conservation
< Anglo-Norman conservacione, (...) < cōnservāt–, past
participial stem of cōnservāre (to conserve) + –iō (–ation)
OED Conservation n. 1. a. The action or process of conserving;
preservation of life, health, perfection, etc.; (also) preservation
from destructive influences, natural decay, or waste. Cf.
302

APPENDIX
Conserving n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
(...) as I shall elsewhere endeavour to manifest when I come to
shew the use of the air in respiration, and for the preservation of
the life, nay, for the conservation and restauration of the health
and natural constitution of mankind (...). Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Conserving
Conserve (v)
OED Conserving n. The action or process of conserve (in various
senses); (in early use) preservation, maintenance; (now freq.)
conservation. Cf. Conservation n. 1. a., in same sense.
1413 (OED)
The second is, in bringing the Lips of the Wound even together,
which were separated. The third is, in retaining the Lips so
brought together, that they may by Consolidation be restored to
their former figure. The fourth is, in conserving the
Temperament and natural Heat of the Part, in order to Unition.
The fifth is, in preventing ill Accidents, and correcting such as
have already seized on the Part. Wiseman, Wounds.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Consideration
Base
< French considération (...) < consīderāre (to consider)
Definition OED Consideration n. 2. a. The keeping of a subject before the
mind; attentive thought, reflection, meditation. Cf. Considering n.
1, in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1386 (OED)
Example
(...) and almost every day observing the Inconveniences that
attended those People who had occasion to make use of them;
for my own satisfaction, and the good of Mankind, I took into
consideration, whether their Methods were agreeable to Reason,
and the Subject upon which they wrought. Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 6
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Considering
Consider (v)
OED Considering n. 1. The action of consider. Cf. Consideration
n. 2. a., in same sense.
1483 (OED)
And yf the Mason Carpenter and Smythe, be so curious and
dyligent, in knowyng, chosyng, and consyderynge of stones,
tymber, and yron, whyche be thynges of no great valour or
estimation: (...). Gale, Institution.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
303

APPENDIX
Nominalization Consolation
Base
< French consolation (12th cent. in Littré), < Latin consōlātiōnem
(consoling, comfort), n. of action from consōlārī (to console)
Definition OED Consolation n. 1. The action of consoling, cheering, or
comforting; the state of being consoled; alleviation of sorrow or
mental distress.
Earliest attestation c1374 (OED)
Example
A TREATISE OF MELANCHOLY. Containing the causes thereof,
and reasons of the straunge effects it worketh in our minds and
bodies: with the Phisicke cure, and Spirituall consolation for
such as haue thereto adioyned afflicted conscience. Bright,
Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Consolidation
Base
< Latin consolidātiōn-em, n. of action < consolidāre (to
consolidate)
Definition OED Consolidation n. 1. The action of making solid, or of
forming into a solid or compact mass; solidification.
Earliest attestation 1603 (OED)
Example
And lykewise there is two manners of consolydation, one is true,
that is when both the partes of the thing that is dissolued by
seperating, and reassembled and knit without any manner of
appearing of the dissolution afore, and without any meanes. And
the other is vntrue consolydacion (...). Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 5
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Consoliding
Consolidate (v)
The action of uniting the sides of a wound in order to heal.
Cf. Consolidate v. †4. a. spec. To cause (the sides of a wound,
the parts in a rupture or fracture) to unite or grow together, and so
to heal. Obs.
1579 (EMEMT)
To reioine the separate, as in consoliding the woundes, &
redusing the lyps: And to put out the superfluous things, as in
curing Apostumes to cleanse them & put away the coares.
Chauliac, Qvydos.
1 (verbal gerund)
Consounding
Consound (v)
The action of healing or joining together wounds or fractures.
Cf. Consound v. trans. To heal, join together (wounds, fractures);
= consolidate v. 4
c1400 (OED)
304

APPENDIX
Example
And therfore the solution of the continuite of the same (as
Hypocrates sayeth) receaueth not restauration, after the fyrste
intencion of restorynge and consoundynge of membres. De Vigo,
Excellent.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Constitution
Base
< French constitution, (...) < Latin constitūtiōn-em, n. of action
from constituĕre (to constitute)
Definition OED Constitution n. 1. a. The action of constituting, making,
establishing, etc.
Earliest attestation 1566 (EMEMT)
Example
But to the constitution of the parts of mans body, occult
proprerties do belong, and many actions are done by them.
Therefore occult qualities belong to the health of man. Sennert,
Practical.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Consumption
Base < Anglo-Norman and Middle French consumpcion, (...) <
consumpt–, past participial stem of consūmere (to consume) + –iō
(–ation)
Definition OED Consumption n. 2. a. Originally: †abnormality or loss of
humours, resulting in wasting (extreme weight loss) of the body;
such wasting; (obs.). Later: disease that causes wasting of the
body, spec. tuberculosis. Now chiefly hist.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
(...) it's evident, that the Fundamental parts must necessarily
come into danger, which being once attaqued (forcibly enter'd
upon,) and considerably consumed, the superstructure (or the
whole body, that's built upon the Fundamental parts,) must
unavoidably fall and come to ruine; which degree of
Consumption we term proper Consumption, as obtaining its seat
in the foundation of the body, and admitting for the most part of
no cure, or at least a very difficult one. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 102
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Contagion
< French contagion, or < Latin contāgiōn-em (...) < con–
(together) + tangĕre (to touch)
OED Contagion n. 1. a. The communication of disease from
body to body by contact direct or mediate.
c1522 (OED)
If it be taken for the thing poysoned, it is of a double nature:
some are bodies and act by a bodily contract, and though they
touch not all with their own body, yet they send forth Atoms and
small bodies that infect, and move to & fro in the air in the time
305

APPENDIX
of contagion. Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 8
Nominalization Contemperation
Base
< French contempération (...) < contemperāre (to contemper)
Definition OED Contemperation n. Obs. 1. a. A blending together or
commingling of elements of different character; blended
condition.
Earliest attestation 1502 (OED)
Example
In man (saith he) [/13./] there is bitter, sweet, salt and sour, and
six hundred more qualities, which according to their plenty and
strength have other faculties, by mixture of the mutual
contemperation, nor are these seen, nor do they [^p.16^] molest,
but any of these are separated (...). Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Contemplation
Base
< Old French contemplation, (...) < Latin contemplātiōn-em, n. of
action from contemplāre (to contemplate)
Definition OED Contemplation n. 1. The action of beholding, or looking at
with attention and thought.
Earliest attestation c1500 (OED)
Example
(...) that which I doe conceiue and vnderstand, touching this my
determined purpose, for the Cure of this haynous Maladie, which,
in the Pilgrimage of my practize and contemplations, I haue
most diligentlie obserued, (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Contentment
Base
< French contentement (...), < contenter (to content)
Definition OED Contentment n. 1. a. The action of satisfying; the process of
being satisfied; satisfaction. arch.
Earliest attestation 1474 (OED)
Example
(...) the Ostridges enioyeth some parte of nourishment, thereby
passing it into bloud, or at the least that the stomach receiueth a
kinde of comfort and contentment, which commonly it is taken to
do by the nourishment it containeth as the Cooks appetite may be
satisfied for a time by smelling of the rost, (...). Bright,
Melancholy.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Continuance
< Old French continuance (...) < continuer (to continue) (present
participle continuant )
OED Continuance n. 1. a. Keeping up, going on with,
maintaining, or prolonging (an action, process, state, etc.). Cf.
Continuation †1., in similar sense.
306

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation c1374 (OED)
Example
Take Cammomile and Centory, stam them, and wring out the
juice, drink it in Butter-milk, Posset-Drink, mingled with Wine,
with continuance, and you shall find perfect Cure: Probatum est.
Woolley, Supplement.
Tokens 12
Nominalization Continuation
Base < French continuation (...) < Latin continuātiōnem, n. of action <
continuāre (to continue)
Definition OED Continuation n. †1. The action of continuing in any course
of action; perseverance, persistency. Obs. Cf. Continuance n. 1.
a., in similar sense.
Earliest attestation c1374 (OED)
Example
(...) that the heat of the fire agitating and rarifying the waterish,
transparent, and volatile water that is contain’d in them, by the
continuation of that action, does so totally expel and drive away
all that which before fill’d the pores, and was dispers’d also
throughthe solid mass of it, (...). Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Contraction
Base
< French contraction (...) < Latin contractiōn-em, n. of action
from contrahĕre (to contract)
Definition OED Contraction n. 5. b. Pathol. ‘A term for the shortening of a
muscle from some morbid cause; also, a morbid shortening of
any structure whether accompanied or not by alteration of tissue’
(New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon).
Earliest attestation 1630 (EMEMT)
Example
The water quickens the eyesight. The oyle is good against
Contraction, and stifnes of members. The Balme for wounds.
Bonham, Chyrvrgians.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Contusion
Base < French contusion, < Latin contūsiōn-em crushing, bruising, n.
of action < contundĕre (to contuse)
Definition OED Contusion n. 1. a. The action of bruising, or condition of
being bruised.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
Now let a Wound be made where it will, and how it's made
matters not, whether it be by Cutting or Contusion; only there is
this difference between those Wounds called incised, and those
called contused ones, (...). Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 12
Nominalization
Conversing
307

APPENDIX
Base
Converse (v)
Definition The act of associating in a familiar way, keeping company;
holding intercourse.
Cf. Converse v. †2. a. To associate familiarly, consort, keep
company; to hold intercourse, be familiar with. Obs.
Earliest attestation a1610 (OED)
Example
You may know if the cause of an occult disease be bred in, or
brought to the body by the diet before, and by his conversing
with such as had the like disease. Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Conversion
Base < French conversion, < Latin conversiōn-em (turning round), n.
of action from convertĕre (to turn round)
Definition OED Conversion n. 1. a. The action of turning round or
revolving; revolution, rotation. Obs.
Earliest attestation 1541 (OED)
Example
And note that these two Circles are called Tropiques of this
Greeke word Tropos, which is as much to say as a conuersion or
turning, (...). Blundevile, Cosmographie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Conveyance
Base
Convey (v)
Definition OED Conveyance n. 2. a. The action of carrying or transporting;
the carriage of persons or goods from one place to another.
(Formerly used more widely.)
Earliest attestation c1520 (OED)
Example
(...) but ev'n by this great quantity the distractile blood-pipes
being very much distended, compress the nerves over all the
body, and hinder the conveyance of the animal spirits into, and
thro these vessels, according to their force of going outwards,
and the resistence of these in the different parts; so that tho there
is a greater quantity of blood contain'd in the vessels, yet that
being propell'd or driven forwards with less force, will occasion
a full, tho slow, pulse: (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Convulsion
< Latin convulsiōn-em, n. of action < convellĕre (to convulse)
OED Convulsion n. 2. Pathol. †a. An involuntary contraction,
stiffening, or ‘drawing up’ of a muscle, limb, etc.; cramp; tetanus.
Obs.
1599 (OED)
If convulsion happen in a wound, [/21./] chiefly after great
inflammation, it is for the most part mortall, and sheweth that the
parts neruous are hurt. Lowe, Art.
308

APPENDIX
Tokens 14
Nominalization Cooling
Base
Cool (v)
Definition OED Cooling n. 1. The action of making or becoming less warm
or hot; an instance of this. Also with down, off.
Earliest attestation c1350 (OED)
Example
To which I answer, that having several times tried, by the most
violent Agitation of many fluid Bodies in inclosed Vessels, I
could never perceive the least warmth; nay I have kept Blood as
it came warm out of the Veins in continued violent motion, and
instead of hindering, it has facilitated its cooling. Colbatch,
Novum.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Correcting
Correct (v)
OED Correcting n. The action of the verb correct.
1580 (OED)
The fifth is, in preventing ill Accidents, and correcting such as
have already seized on the Part. Wiseman, Wounds.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Corrosion
Base < Old French corrosion or < Latin corrōsiōn-em, n. of action <
corrōdĕre (to corrode)
Definition OED Corrosion n. 1. The action or process of corroding; the fact
or condition of being corroded. a. Destruction of organic tissue
by disease, etc. Cf. aslo Corrupting n. and Corruption n., in same
sense.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
Lastly, in some the Gout is a greife by way of corrosion, not that
it eateth the flesh, but in that it gnaweth and fretteth, that the
patient somtimes thinketh that dogs do gnaw his bones. Holland,
Gutta.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Corrupting
Base
Corrupt (v)
Definition OED Corrupting n. The action of corrupt. Cf. also Corrosion n.
1. and Corruption n., in same sense
Earliest attestation 1565-78 (OED)
Example
Consumptive extenuations must be against nature, to exclude
natural ones, occasioned through want of food, required to fill up
the vacuities (empty spaces between the Pores) of the parts, that
happen through their daily dissipation (or dissolution;) but it's
rather an Absorbing (sucking up) or devouring of the parts by
309

APPENDIX
Tokens
Corrupting their Fundamentals, whereby every part doth not
only shrink, but grows sensibly (...). Harvey, Morbus.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Corruption
Base
< French corruption (...) < Latin corruptiōn-em, n. of action from
corrump-ĕre (to corrupt)
Definition OED Corruption n. The action of corrupting; the fact of being
corrupted; the condition of being corrupt; corrupt matter; a
corrupt example or form; corrupting agency: in the various
physical, moral, and transferred applications of corrupt (adj.).
I. Physical. †1.a. The destruction or spoiling of anything, esp. by
disintegration or by decomposition with its attendant
unwholesomeness; and loathsomeness; putrefaction. Obs. Cf.
also Corrosion n. and Corrupting n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1377 (OED)
Example (...) that nourishment hath in it an execremental substance,
which being considered alone though it be not yet poyson, hath in
it a power, meeting with a former, to become of like hurtfull
qualitie: which we see in execrements being permitted to putrifie
and to degenerate of them selues, howe by corruption they
become moste daungerous; (...). Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 22
Nominalization Couching
Base
Couch (v)
Definition OED Couching n. 1. The action of couch, in various senses.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
Here I meane to set down the variety of cataracts, the
prognosticks of them, whereby it shall be knowne which are
curable and which not, and the most exquisite manner of
couching of such as are curable. Read, Workes.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Coughing
Base
Cough (v)
Definition OED Coughing n. The action of the verb cough.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
The membranous part of the Diaphragma being hurt, the flancke
doth retyre with great waight on the part, dolour in the ridge
backe, difficulty to breath, coughing with issue of a spumous
bloud at y=e= wound. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Counting
Count (v)
OED Counting n. 1. The action of the verb count.
310

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
c1380 (OED)
(...) and by counting the degrees vppon the Meridian, contained
betwixt the degree of the sun and the Equinoctiall, you shall know
what declination the Sun hath that day, (...). Blundevile,
Cosmographie.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Coupling
Base
Couple (v)
Definition OED Coupling n. 1. Joining in couples, pairing; linking.
Earliest attestation c1340 (OED)
Example
Which producing I vnderstand not a discouerie only, as by
withdrawing availe, to shew that which lay behind it, but a
generation and coupling of matter with the forme: which forme it
bringeth not with it, but receaueth it as it were an impression
from the part. Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Cracking
Base
Crack (v)
Definition OED Cracking n. 1. The emission of a sharp sound as in the act
of breaking or bursting, or the noise so emitted.
Earliest attestation c1290 (OED)
Example
The remaining particles likewise of the Wood among the stony
particles, may keep them from cracking and flying when put into
fire, as they are very apt to do in a Flint. Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Creation
Base
< Anglo-Norman creation, (...) < creāt–, past participial stem of
creāre (to create) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Creation n. 2. a. The action or process of bringing
something into existence from nothing by divine or natural
agency; the fact of being so created.
Earliest attestation a1393 (OED)
Example
I say, secondly y=t= no members spermatike after y=e= losse of
their substaunce may not regenerate bicause that their matter is
attribuate to them at the very beginning of their creation, and
after that neuer engender agayne. Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Crossing
Cross (v)
OED Crossing n. 3. a. The action of passing across; intersecting;
traversing; passage across the sea, a river, etc.
1575 (OED)
311

APPENDIX
Example
Tokens
Againe the Azimuth of the Sunne is a great Circle, passing
through the Zenith and the Center of the Sunne in what part of
the heauen so euer he be, so as he be aboue the Horizon, which
Circle deuideth the Horizon into two equall parts by crossing the
same in two points opposite. Blundevile, Cosmographie.
4 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Curation
Base Middle English, < Old French curacion, < Latin cūrātiōn-em, n.
of action < cūrāre (to cure)
Definition OED Curation n. Obs. 1. The action of curing; healing, cure.
Earliest attestation c1374 (OED)
Example
[}Pet.}] What time of the yeare is most expedient for the curation
of wounds? [}Io.}] The Spring time, the weather being neither
hote nor cold: the Autume is worse, for the moystnesse of the
ayre; also the Winter is enemie to all vlcers and wounds, in the
[/25./] membraynes and bones. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 8
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Curing
Cure (v)
OED Curing n. The action of the verb cure. 1. Healing, cure.
a1382 (OED)
Yea, untill the time of Hippocrates, Physick it self seemeth to
have been only a knowledge of simples, fit for curing of internal
diseases, and outward griefes, found out by experience: and that
there were but few precepts concerning the Art, shewing either
the knowledg of particular griefes, or the method of curing of
them; (...). Read, Workes.
40 (17 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Curling
Base
Curl (v)
Definition OED Curling n. 1. The action of the verb curl; a curl, twist,
undulation.
Earliest attestation 1440 (OED)
Example
That false Locks as they call them of some Hair, being by curling
or otherwise brought to a certain degree of driness, or of
stiffness, will be attracted by the flesh of some persons, (...).
Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Cutting
Cut (v)
OED Cutting n. 1. a. The action of the verb cut, in various senses.
c1380 (OED)
[}Question.}] WHat is Chyrurgery? [}Aunswere.}] Chyrurgery
312

APPENDIX
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
is science, that teacheth the manner and qualitie to work,
principally in knitting, in cutting, and exercising other workes of
the hande. In healing of man, as much as it is possible. Chauliac,
Qvydos.
13 (3 of them verbal gerunds)
Damning
Damn (v)
OED Damning n. 1. The action of the verb damn; condemnation;
damnation.
c1400 (OED)
Take awaye the causes we maye, in damnyng diches, auoidynge
cario~s, lettyng in open aire, shunning suche euil mistes as
before I spake of, not openynge or sturrynge euill brethynge
places, landynge muddy and rotte~ groundes, burieng dede
bodyes, kepyng canelles cleane, (...). Caius, Sweatyng.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Dancing
Base
Dance (v)
Definition OED Dancing n. The action of the verb dance.
Earliest attestation a1340 (OED)
Example
Of the first sort are the humors that cause an Epilepsie, fear of
water, dancing, madness, Scurvey, Colick, and malignant
Dysenteries, Elephantiasis, Gangrene, and simply malignant
Fevers. Sennert, Gutta.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Dashing
Base
Dash (v)
Definition OED Dashing n. 1. The action of the verb dash, in various
senses.
Earliest attestation 1580 (OED)
Example
4 For dassing and giddinesse in the head, dip silke or wooll in
the iuice thereof with vineger, and apply it. Langham, Garden.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Declaration
Base < French déclaration or < Latin dēclārātiōn-em, n. of action <
dēclārāre (to declare)
Definition OED Declaration n. 3. a. The action of stating, telling, setting
forth, or announcing openly, explicitly or formally; positive
statement or assertion; an assertion, announcement or
proclamation in emphatic, solemn, or legal terms. Cf. also
Declaring n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1340 (OED)
Example
Of aire so muche I haue spoken before, as apperteinethe to the
313

APPENDIX
declaration of enfection therby. Nowe I wyl aduise and counseill
howe to kepe the same pure, for so moche as may be, or lesse
enfected, and correcte the same corrupte. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Declaring
Base
Declare (v)
Definition OED Declaring n. The action of the verb declare in its various
senses; declaration. Cf. Declaration n. 3. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1374 (OED)
Example
Nowe the thirde way to knowe what thing Chirurgerie is, It is
also to be knowen by his beeing or declaring of his owne
properties, the which teacheth vs to worke in mannes body with
handes: (...). Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Declination
Base < Old French déclinacion, < Latin dēclīnātiōn-em, n. of action <
dēclīnāre (to decline)
Definition OED Declination n. The action of declining. Cf. Declining n., in
same sense.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
(...) and the time hath beene that he hath spent aboue ten dayes
more in making his North declination, then in making his South
declination (...). Blundevile, Cosmographie.
Tokens 6
Nominalization Declining
Base
Decline (v)
Definition OED Declining n. The action of the verb decline (Formerly
frequent as a n.; now usually gerundial.) Falling off, decay,
decreasing, waning, etc.; = decline n. 1. Cf. Declination n., in
same sense.
Earliest attestation 1481 (OED)
Example
(...) there is no sickenes cured that passeth not these fower times,
beginninge, augme~ting, state, and declining, and thus Galen
doth more copiously [/35./] demonstrate. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Decoction
Base < Old French decoction, (...), < Latin dēcoctiōn-em, n. of action <
dēcoquĕre (to decoct)
Definition OED Decoction n. 1. a. The action of decocting; esp. boiling in
water or other liquid so as to extract the soluble parts or
principles of the substance.
Earliest attestation c1430 (OED)
Example
Golde is the moost attempered of all metalles. Now be it is hote/
314

APPENDIX
but y~ heet is meane without excesse/ therfore it is put in no
degre. Golde is made of a vayne of y=e= erthe by decoccion or
meltynge (...). Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 29
Nominalization Decussation
Base
< Latin decussātiōn-em, n. of action < decussāre (to decuss)
Definition OED Decussation n. 1. a. Crossing (of lines, rays, fibres, etc.) so
as to form a figure like the letter X; intersection.
Earliest attestation 1656 (OED)
Example
(...) that these Electrical Rays if they may be so call’d being
emitted several ways, and consequently crossing one another,
thet into the pores of the Straw, or other light body to be
attracted, and by means of their Decussation take the faster hold
of it, and havee the greater force to carry it along with them,
when they shrink back to the Amber whence they were emitted.
Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Defending
Defend (v)
The action of the verb defend: a. The warding off of attack, etc.
Cf. also Defense n., in same sense.
c1300 (OED)
And heere to put you in memory, that you must bee very carefull
and circumspect in defending the partes round about the sayd
Tumors, for feare as I haue said that your Cautery doe run and
spread too farre abroad: (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Defense
Base
Middle English defens, < Latin dēfensum (thing forbidden,
defended, etc.). n. use of past participle of dēfendĕre (to defend)
Definition OED Defense n. The action of defending, in the various senses of
the verb. Cf. Defending n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1513 (OED)
Example
A boke, or counseill against the disease commonly called the
sweate, or sweatyng sicknesse. Made by Jhon Caius doctour in
phisicke. Uery necessary for everye personne and much requisite
to be had in the handes of al sortes, for their better instruction,
preparation and defence, against the soubdein comyng, and
fearful assaultyng of the same disease. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 8
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Definition
< Old French de–, def–, diffinicion (...) < dēfīnīre (to define)
OED Definition n. 3. Logic, etc. The action of defining, or stating
315

APPENDIX
exactly what a thing is, or what a word means.
Earliest attestation 1645 (OED)
Example
I have run through those five introductory points of Chirurgerie;
to wit, of the antiquity and dignity of it: of the professors of it, of
its place amongst the liberall Arts, of the definition and parts of
the same. Read, Workes.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Defluxion
Base
< French défluxion (...) < Latin dēfluĕre (to flow down, also, to
fall off [as hair]).
Definition OED Defluxion n. 2. Pathol. a. A supposed flow of ‘humours’ to
a particular part of the body, in certain diseases.
Earliest attestation c1550 (OED)
Example
The dose is from three graines to fiue, to procure sleepe, to
aswage the paines of those that are troubled with the collicke,
with the Plurisie, with the Stone, and with the Goute: to stay the
Cough, the Fluxe of the Belly, spitting of bloud, and Defluxions
of huours, &c. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Deliberation
Base
< French délibération, (...) < Latin dēlīberātiōn-em, n. of action
from dēlīberāre (to deliberate)
Definition OED Deliberation n. 1. The action of deliberating, or weighing a
thing in the mind; careful consideration with a view to decision.
Earliest attestation c1374 (OED)
Example
Likewise they shal geue no counsayle except they be asked, and
then say their aduise by good deliberation; and that they be wel
advised afore they speake, chefly in the presence of wise men.
Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Deligation
Base
< Latin *dēligātiōn-em, n. of action from dēligāre
Definition OED Deligation n. 1. Surg. †a. Bandaging; a bandage. Obs.
Earliest attestation 1661 (OED)
Example
The Third Intention is, Deligation, or retaining the Parts so
joyned together. [/15./] For the effecting of this, our famous
Masters have left us two principal means, Fasciæ and Suturæ,
Rowling and Stitching: to which some, nay most of them, added
Fibulas, or Clasps. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Deliverance
Deliver (v)
OED Deliverance n. †2. The being delivered of offspring, the
316

APPENDIX
bringing forth of offspring; delivery. Obs.
Earliest attestation c1325 (OED)
Example
Peucedani, foeniculi porcini, Of Sulphurwort, Hog-fennel, or
Horestrange, it is very good applied to the navils of children that
stick out, ruptures, held in the mouth it is a present remedy for
the fits of the mother, it being taken inwardly gives speedy
deliverance to women in travail, and brings away the after birth.
Culpeper, London.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Demonstration
Base
< Latin dēmonstrātiōn-em, n. of action from dēmonstrāre (to
demonstrate)
Definition OED Demonstration n. 3. a. The action or process of
demonstrating or making evident by reasoning; the action of
proving beyond the possibility of doubt by a process of argument
or logical deduction or by practical proof; clear or indubitable
proof; also (with pl.) an argument or series of propositions
proving an asserted conclusion.
Earliest attestation c1386 (OED)
Example
The theorike parte, is obteyned by demonstration, and exacte
knowledge of the principles of the arte, and this, both doth
inuente, and teache what is to be done, whiche way, and also by
what meanes. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 8
Nominalization Departing
Base
Depart (v)
Definition OED Departing n. 3. a. The action of leaving, taking one's leave
or going away; departure. (In early use ‘leaving each other,
separation’. Now rare or Obs.; replaced by departure).
Earliest attestation ?c1225 (?c1200) (OED)
Example
For whyche cause, at my departynge into Italie, I put an Epistle
before theym dedicatorye to the right Reuerend father in God
Thomas Thirlbye, now Bishoppe of Norwiche, because thesame
maister Framyngham loued hym [^f.6v^] aboue others. Caius,
Sweatyng.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Depravation
< Latin dēprāvātiōn-em, n. of action from dēprāvāre (to deprave)
OED Depravation n. 1. a. The action or fact of making or
becoming depraved, bad, or corrupt; deterioration, degeneration,
esp. moral deterioration; an instance of this.
1561 (OED)
The fourth kinde of greefe is by way of erosion, when as the part
affected doth feele a greevous gnawing and fretting; which kinde
317

APPENDIX
of greife commeth either of a cholerick humor, or else of a
corruption and depravation of other humors. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Deriding
Deride (v)
The action of laughing scornfully, mocking.
Cf. Deride v. 1. trans. To laugh at in contempt or scorn; to laugh
to scorn: to make sport of, mock.
1530 (OED)
(...) and moreouer stood in the gap of my defence against other
such, which then were also sore troubled with the Fluxe of a
fowle mouth, & bled me at their pleasure for their common Table
talk, with scoffing, fleering, and deriding aboue manners and
modesty. Clowes, Artificiall.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Derivation
Base
< French dérivation (...), < Latin dērīvātiōnem, n. of action from
dērīvāre (to derive)
Definition OED Derivation n. 1 4. Origination or coming forth from a source;
extraction, origin, descent.
Earliest attestation 1609 (OED)
Example
The first denomination, to wit Phthisis, an Athenian word, is
generally taken for any kind of an universal diminution
(lessening) and colliquation (melting) of the body, which
acception its Etymology (derivation) [^p.8^] [^GREEK
OMITTED^], to consume, implyes; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Descending
Base
Descend (v)
Definition OED Descending n. 1. The action of the verb descend; descent,
going down.
Earliest attestation 1490 (OED)
Example
Fyrst is trachea arteria/ that is a waye of the brethe or ayre
[^f.B2v^] co~mynge frome the longues to the throte whyche is
gaderyd & bounde to the syde of mery with a stronge & softe
pa~nycle/ after the throte on the spondyles is mery/ or ysophag~/
& is a waye of the desce~dyng of our fode/ & gothe from the
throte to dyafragma & is made out of .ij. cotys. (...).
Braunschweig, Handy.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Describing
Base
Describe (v)
Definition OED Describing n. The action of describe. Cf. Description n. 2.
318

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
a., in same sense.
1559 (OED)
But because it is not enough to know the signification of the
things aboue specified to vse the foresaid Tables when neede is,
vnlesse you know also how to find out those things in the said
tables, I thinke it good therefore o shew you the order of the said
tables by describing the same as followeth. Blundevile, Briefe.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Description
Base < French description, (...) < Latin dēscriptiōn-em, n. of action <
dēscrībĕre (participial stem dēscript–)
Definition OED Description n. 2. a. The action of setting forth in words by
mentioning recognizable features or characteristic marks; verbal
representation or portraiture. Cf. Describing n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1380 (OED)
Example
(...) though it go very much against the hair; which ill conditions
of ti having made it better known then trusted, would exempt me
from making any further description of it, did not my faithful
Mercury, my Microscope, bring me other information of it.
Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Desiring
Desire (v)
OED Desiring n. The action of the verb desire; longing, desire.
(Now rare or Obs. exc. as gerund.)
1377 (OED)
(...) but in determining the just quantities in different Patients,
which you see Authors have endeavoured by desiring us to let
them blood according to their strength, as much as is sufficient,
as much as they can [^p.18^] spare, which are all the same thing;
(...). Cockburn, Continuation.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Destroying
Destroy (v)
OED Destroying n. a. The action of the verb destroy; destruction:
now chiefly gerundial. Cf. Destruction n., in same sense.
c1300 (OED)
Quycke syluer taken in y=e= mouth or eeres sleeth in
destroyenge the membres. And he that hath take~ it by y~
mouthe vse grete qua~tite of gootes mylke/ and be co~tynually
styrynge/ or let hym take drynke that ysope hath ben sode~ in/
and those ben the remedyes. Anonymous, Newe.
3 (all of them verbal gerunds)
319

APPENDIX
Nominalization Destruction
Base
< Old French destructiun (...) < Latin dēstructiōn-em, n. of action
from dēstruĕre (to destroy)
Definition OED Destruction n. The action of destroying; the fact or
condition of being destroyed: the opposite of construction. Cf.
Destroying n. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1340 (OED)
Example
But Fernels reasons onely prove that there are diseases from
occult qualities, and to be cured by the same. As for the first kind,
the change and corruption of substance causeth not a disease,
but the destruction of the part, but a corrupt thing neither suffers
a disease nor health. Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Determination
Base
< French détermination (...), or < Latin dēterminātiōn-em, n. of
action from dētermināre (to determine)
Definition OED Determination n. 5. a. The determining of bounds or fixing
of limits; delimitation; definition; a fixing of the extent, position,
or identity (of anything). Cf. Determining n. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1593 (OED)
Example
[}Question.}] What is Anatomie, and whereoff is it deriuate.
[}Aunswere.}] Anatomie is the right determination and diuision
of euery particuler member of the bodye of mankinde. Chauliac,
Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Determining
Determine (v)
OED Determining n. a. The action of the verb determine. (Now
chiefly gerundial.) Cf. Determination n. 5. a., in same sense.
1530 (OED)
I say in making a revulsion, or by determining the motion of the
Blood, more towards one part than another, which is to be
practiced upon a thousand occasions; the quantity to be let, if
other circumstances are observed, very often exceeds not six or
eight Ounces in the strongest constitutions; now such a quantity
can never be supposed to bring our Patients strength into doubt,
(...). Cockburn, Continuation.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Detracting
Detract (v)
OED Detracting n. The action of the verb detract; †protraction
(obs.); †shunning, avoiding (obs.); disparagement, detraction.
1563 (EMEMT)
Truth it is, wherfore let vs begin [^f.2v^] wyth out further
320

APPENDIX
detractynge of tyme. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Detriment
Base
< French détriment (...) < dēterĕre (dētrīvi, dētrīt–) (to wear
away, to impair)
Definition OED Detriment n. 1. a. Loss or damage done or caused to, or
sustained by, any person or thing.
Earliest attestation a1440 (OED)
Example
I have not mention'd their Tenting, Probing, and other
nonsensical trumpery, which is still used by most Chirurgeons, to
the great detriment of their Patients, because many judicious
Chirurgeons in all places begin to leave them off; who, I question
not, will be glad to change their old insuccessful way of Practice
altogether, when once inform'd of a better and more certain
Method. Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Devising
Devise (v)
OED Devising n. a. The action of the verb devise; contriving,
planning, invention, etc.
c1400 (OED)
And this was ordayned of nature, that the apprehended
semblaunces shuld not passe from one ve~tricle to another, wha~
a man wil cease from exterior operatio~s of the senses, or
thynkyng and deuysyng. De Vigo, Excellent.
3 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Dieting
Base
Diet (v)
Definition OED Dieting n. The action of the verb diet.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
Therfore helthful must he nedes be and free from this disease,
that vsethe this kinde of liuynge and maner in dietynge. Caius,
Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Difference
< French différence, (...) < Latin differentia, abstr. n. < differentem
OED Difference n. 1. a. The condition, quality, or fact of being
different, or not the same in quality or in essence; dissimilarity,
distinction, diversity; the relation of non-agreement or nonidentity
between two or more things, disagreement. Cf.
Differencing n., in same sense.
1340 (OED)
321

APPENDIX
Example
And here note, that there is difference betwyxt the grecians, and
the later writers, touchinge the names of these compound
medicynes. For the Grecians dyd call vnguentes onely aromatick
oyles, wherewyth they dyd annoynt the body. The Cerotes they
called suche medicynes as receyued into their composition oyle
and waxe. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Differencing
Difference (v)
OED Differencing n. The action of the verb to difference (in
various senses). Cf. Difference n. 1. a., in same sense.
1632 (OED)
Thus much for differencing those terms, which otherwise might
erroneously be taken for one and the same kind of Consumption.
Harvey, Morbus.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Digesting
Base
Digest (v)
Definition OED Digesting n. a. The action of the verb digest in various
senses. Cf. Digestion n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1541 (OED)
Example
Whiche Galen witnesseth to bee nothinge els but the cause
whereof action procedeth, we shall passe thys to learned
Studientes of Philosophy and only Phisicke. For what nedes
manye wordes, watches do let nature from the office of
disgestinge, wherefore they leaue great rawnes, & lacke of
naturall heat enseweth, of the which euil humors foloweth: (...).
Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Digestion
Base
< French digestion (...) < dīgerĕre (past participle dīgest–) (to
digest)
Definition OED Digestion n. 1. a. The physiological process whereby the
nutritive part of the food consumed is, in the stomach and
intestines, rendered fit to be assimilated by the system. Cf.
Digesting n. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1386 (OED)
Example
For the same a grayne of aloe gyuen w=t= hony clenseth the
stomake/ and procureth dygestyon. Pewdre of Mastyke and aloe
medled togyder/ and soden in white wyne ought to be gyuen for
the same. Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 28
Nominalization
Digression
322

APPENDIX
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens 1
< Old French disgressiun, digressiun (12th cent.), modern French
digression, < Latin dīgressiōn-em, n. of action < dīgredī (to
digress)
OED Digression n. 2. Departure or deviation from the subject in
discourse or writing; an instance of this. (The earliest and most frequent
sense.)
1552 (OED)
I must confess I can hardly forbear running out into a long
digression concerning some noble Theorems about the great and
different effects of bleeding, that depend entirely upon the
infinitely useful demonstration of the circulation of the Blood,
that crowd into my thoughts; (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Nominalization Dilaceration
Base
< French dilacération (...) < dīlacerāre (to dilacerate)
Definition OED Dilaceration n. 1. The action of rending asunder or tearing
(parts of the body, etc.); the condition of being torn or rent.
Earliest attestation 1612 (EMEMT)
Example
If the wound be not great inough that it may not bee drawen with
dilaceration of the flesh, [/36./] which maketh great
inflammation and dolour, in that case we must dilate the wound
with a Bystorie or Razour: for the which it is most necessary to
know the forme, substance, situation and collection of euery part,
(...). Lowe, Art.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Dilatation
Base
< Old French dilatacion, (...) < dīlātā-re (to dilate)
Definition OED Dilatation n. 1. a. The action or process of dilating; the
condition of being dilated; widening out, expansion, enlargement.
(Chiefly in Physics and Physiol.)
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
(...) thence, together with the returning Blood and Lympha, into
the Vena Cava, and so to the right Ventricle of the Heart;
whence, by the Systole or Contraction [^p.16^] of the Heart, thro
the Arterial Vein, into the Lungs; where, by the Contraction and
Dilatation of the Lungs, it is mix'd with the Blood, and that part
of it which is fit for that purpose, is there made Blood: (...).
Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Diminishing
Diminish (v)
OED Diminishing n. 1. The action of the verb diminish;
lessening. Cf. Diminution n. 1. a., in same sense.
a1535 (OED)
323

APPENDIX
Example
Tokens
Your syrup if the stomack be empty or weake, or the Guts empty,
then put in all Wine and no Vinegar: this is an excellent syrup,
for either by adding or deminishing Simples here unto,
according to the Infirmities and nature thereof it may serve for
any grosse matter in any cold distemper. Wood, Alphabetical.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Diminution
Base
< Anglo-Norman diminuciun (...) < Latin dīminūtiōn-em later
spelling of dēminūtiōn-em, n. of action from dēminuĕre (to
lessen)
Definition OED Diminution n. 1. a. The action of diminishing or making
less; the process of diminishing or becoming less; reduction in
magnitude or degree; lessening, decrease. Cf. Diminishing n. 1.,
in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1374 (OED)
Example
An Atrophy is by some taken for a diminution of the body, for
want of good and laudable nutriment (food,) which being rejected
by the parts, must necessarily shrink for want of better nutriture.
Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 10
Nominalization Directing
Base
Direct (v)
Definition OED Directing n. The action of the verb direct. Cf. Direction n.
1., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1530 (OED)
Example
(...) that a well pois’d Needle, being by the touch of a good
Loadstone, excited and brought to turn one of its ends to the
North and the other to the South, it may by a contrary touch of
the same Loadstone be deprived of the faculty it had of directing
its determinate extreams to determinate Poles. Boyle,
Magnetism.
Tokens
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Direction
Base
< Latin dīrectiōn-em, n. of action from dīrig-ĕre (to direct)
Definition OED Direction n. 1. The action or function of directing: c. of
instructing how to proceed or act aright; authoritative guidance,
instruction. Cf. Directing n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1509 (OED)
Example
(...) for as strong medicines, which make agitation of humors are
not good to be vsed for this intention: so gentle medicines taken
in due time, doe great good to the sight: which I doe leaue to the
appointment and direction of a learned Phisition. Bailey,
Preseruation.
Tokens 4
324

APPENDIX
Nominalization Disclosing
Base
Disclose (v)
Definition OED Disclosing n. The action of the verb disclose: a. Opening
up, revelation, bringing to light; disclosure.
Earliest attestation a1513 (OED)
Example
And seeing to a Crow her own Birds seem fairest, for if any one
set under her Hens eggs to be hatched, that they may have Cocks
of the game, they must watch for the time of disclosing, lest she
kill them: (...). Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Discoursing
Base
Discourse (v)
Definition OED Discoursing n. The action of the verb discourse; talking,
conversation; discussion.
Earliest attestation 1559 (OED)
Example
And now I will leaue off discoursing, and begin to speake of my
determined purpose, and to make the same more plainely
knowne, which I haue heertofore kept secret vnto my selfe: (...).
Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Discovering
Discover (v)
The act of revealing or disclosing to knowledge anything secret
or unknown.
Cf. Discover v. 4. To divulge, reveal, disclose to knowledge
(anything secret or unknown); to make known. arch.
a1375 (OED)
But the peculiar affections of the particular Parts hurt, and the
methods of discovering what inward Part is wounded, by
observation made of the Symptoms that happen, are fully handled
in those Chapters which treat of the Wounds of the several Parts.
Wiseman, Wounds.
3 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Discretion
< Old French des- discrecion (...) < discernĕre (participial stem
discrēt–) (to separate, to divide)
OED Discretion n. †2. The action of discerning or judging;
judgement; decision, discrimination. Obs.
c1340 (OED)
(...) & therefore I leue it to the discretion of the woorkmaister, to
do in al suche cases as he shall thinke best, for by these examples
if they bee well marked may al other like conclusions be wrought.
325

APPENDIX
Record, Geometrie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Dislocation
Base
< Old French dislocation (...) < dislocāre (to dislocate)
Definition OED Dislocation n. The action of dislocating, or condition of
being dislocated. 1. a. Displacement; removal from its proper (or
former) place or location.
Earliest attestation 1604 (OED)
Example
In the common signification all other aches proceeding of what
cause soever may bee called the Gout: such as come by contusion
or brusing, or by dislocation of a joynt: and so [/3./] the French
disease having an untolerable ach in the limmes, like a false
fellow, being ashamed of his owne name, termeth it selfe
sometimes by the name of Ach or Gout. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Dismembering
Base
Dismember (v)
Definition OED Dismembering n. 1. The action of the verb dismember;
dismemberment.
Earliest attestation c1386 (OED)
Example
Thirdly, the amputation of a limme by reason of a mortification,
or some other accident. Here shall be set downe the most
accurate method of dismembring. Read, Workes.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Disparagement
Base
< Old French desparagement, < desparager
Definition OED Disparagement n. 2. Lowering of value, honour, or
estimation; dishonour, indignity, disgrace, discredit; that which
causes or brings loss of dignity, etc.
Earliest attestation 1486 (OED)
Example
(...) he rejects the way of explicating Attraction by the Emission
of the finer parts of the attrahent to which Hypothesis, if it be
rightly proposed I confess myself very inclinable is grounded
upon a mistake, which, though a Pilosopher may, for want of
Experience in that Particular, without disparagement fall into, is
nevertheless a mistake. Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Disposition
< French disposition, (...) < Latin dispositiōn-em, n. of action
from dispōnĕre (to dispone)
OED Disposition n. 1. a. The action of setting in order, or
condition of being set in order; arrangement, order; relative
position of the parts or elements of a whole.
326

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation 1563 (OED)
Example
So some haue put them in ale, some in beere and some in meade,
and no doubt but all these meanes are very good according to the
vsage and disposition of the partie. Bailey, Gutta.
Tokens 16
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Disproving
Disprove (v)
The act of proving an assertion to be false or erroneous.
Cf. Disprove v. 1.a. trans. To prove (an assertion, claim, etc.) to
be false or erroneous; to show the fallacy or non-validity of; to
refute, rebut, invalidate.
1587 (OED)
Thirdly for that I thought it beste to auoide the iudgement of the
multitude, from whome in maters of learnyng a man shalbe
forced to dissente, in disprouyng that whiche they most approue,
& approuyng that whiche they moste disalowe. Caius, Sweatyng.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Dissecting
Base
Dissect (v)
Definition OED Dissecting n. The action of the verb dissect. Cf. also
Dissection n. 3., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1650 (EMEMT)
Example
Neither is a Chirurgeon contented to have performed so many
duties to the body of man while it is alive, and the instrument of
the soule for performing actions; but when it is dead, the spirit
returning to God, who gave it, he ceaseth not to be officious to it,
in dissecting of it, for the instruction of himselfe and others, and
preserving it from putrefaction and annoyance, untill time and
place fit for burying of it be offered: (...). Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Dissection
Base
< Latin dissectiōn-em, n. of action < dissecāre; used in medieval
or modern Latin Perhaps immed. < French dissection
Definition OED Dissection n. 3. The action of separating anything into
elementary or minute parts for the purpose of critical
examination; a ‘taking to pieces’, a minute examination; detailed
analysis or criticism. Cf. also Dissecting n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1611 (OED)
Example
But on the contrary, it's ordinary for Smiths, Cooks, and others,
whose imployment is conversant about the Fire, to incurre such
an extreme dryness of their Lungs, that in the dissection of their
Carcasses, they appear liker Spunges than moist Lungs; (...).
Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
327

APPENDIX
Nominalization Dissipation
Base
< Latin dissipātiōn-em, n. of action from dissipāre (to dissipate)
Definition OED Dissipation n. 2. The passing away or wasting of a
substance, or form of energy, through continuous dispersion or
diffusion.
Earliest attestation 1545 (OED)
Example
(...) and so far it's agreeing to ours, that it confirms the latter
branch, viz. that it's a devouring corruption of the essential
mixture, which consisting chiefly of an oyly moisture is
corruptible through dissipation, or being dryed away, which
Galen here intends by dryness, to wit the drying away of the
Balsamick moisture. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Dissolution
Base
In some senses < French dissolution (...), in others < Latin
dissolūtiōn-em, n. of action from dissolvĕre (to break up)
Definition OED Dissolution n. 1. a. Separation into parts or constituent
elements; reduction of any body or mass to elements or atoms;
destruction of the existing condition; disintegration,
decomposition. Cf. Dissolving n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
(...) but it's rather an Absorbing (sucking up) or devouring of the
parts by Corrupting their Fundamentals, whereby every part doth
not only shrink, but grows sensibly less in its substance, so as the
parts, as far as they are consumed, can never be recovered, or
made greater, by reason of the dissolution and corruption of
their Fundamental mixture, and the return of their substantial
principles into their first elements;(...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 10
Nominalization Dissolving
Base
Dissolve (v)
Definition OED Dissolving n. The action of the verb dissolve, in various
senses. Cf. Dissolution n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
Cantharides and Psillie: by reason the matter of these things
through natures working groweth more particular, & is not
stored with such varietie (as I may so call them) of potentiall
natures: whereby it might seeme the verie indiuiduall substance
indifferently to subiect it selfe either for nourishment or poison:
let the consideration of the earth carrie vs yet farther to the
dissoluing of this knot also. Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Distemperance
328

APPENDIX
Base
< Old French destemprance, (...) < dis–, (dis–) + Latin
temperāntia (temperance)
Definition OED Distemperance n. 3. Disturbance of ‘humour’, temper, or
mind; = distemper.
Earliest attestation 1566 (EMEMT)
Example
The distemperance of blud hapneth by one of thother humors,
through the inordinate or superfluous mixture of them, and not of
him self, for blud is temperate of his proper quality as saith
Hippocrates [/28./] hauing no contrariety exceding either in
heate or cold, or in cold or heate, or in moist or drith, or in drith
or moisture, (...). Jones, Dial.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Distending
Base
Distend (v)
Definition The action of stretching beyond measure; drawing out of joint.
Cf. Distension n. 1., in same sense.
Cf. Distend v. †1. †b. To stretch or extend beyond measure; to
strain; to draw out of joint, to rack. Obs. rare.
Earliest attestation 1633 (OED)
Example
(...) whatsoever part is most neruous, is also most sensible: and
therefore the feet upon any little offence, are pained or greeved
the more. Another reason is this, that about every joynt is
wrapped a skinne, and when as a humor hath insinuated it selfe
betweene that and the joynt, in distending of that, untill it bee
resolved, it worketh an intolerable greife; (...). Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Distension
Base
< Latin distensiōn-em, variant of distentiōn-em, n. of action from
distendĕre (to distend); perhaps immed. < French distension
Definition OED Distension n. 1. The action of distending; distended
condition; expansion by stretching or swelling out. Cf.
Distending n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1607 (OED)
Example
Another kinde of griefe commeth by way of distention, when as
the veines, and sinewes, and arteries of some one part are fuller
than they should be, then is that part greeved by distention.
Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 5
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Distillation
< Latin dē-, distillātiōn-em, n. of action < dē–, distillāre (to
distill)
OED Distillation n. 3. a. The action of converting any substance
or constituent of a substance into vapour by means of heat, and of
again condensing this by refrigeration into the liquid form, by
329

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens 9
means of an alembic, retort and receiver, or a still and
refrigeratory; the extraction of the spirit, essence, or essential oil
of any substance by the evaporation and condensation of its
liquid solution; and, in a more generalized sense, the operation of
separating by means of fire, and in closed vessels, the volatile
parts of any substance from the fixed parts, in order to the
collection of the products. Cf. Distilling n., in same sense.
14.. (OED)
Such are the Juices or Liquors which issue from the dryer sort of
Woods in Distillation, as also the Juices drawn from the Horns
and bones of Animals, though seemingly very dry. Charas, Royal.
Nominalization Distilling
Base
Distil (v)
Definition OED Distilling n. The action of the verb distil. Cf. Distillation n.
3. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1527 (OED)
Example
And therefore I doe not allow of the common maner of distilling
in stillitories of lead, by the which the watry parts onely are
drawne. Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens
4 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Distraction
Base
< Latin distractiōn-em, n. of action < distrahĕre (to pull asunder)
Definition OED Distraction n. 2. a. The drawing away (of the mind or
thoughts) from one point or course to another; diversion of the
mind or attention. Usually in adverse sense; less commonly =
diversion, relaxation (as in French).
Earliest attestation 1581 (OED)
Example
Morbus Anglicus: OR, THE ANATOMY OF CONSUMPTIONS.
CONTAINING The Nature, Causes, Subject, Progress, Change,
Signes, Prognosticks, Preservatives; and several Methods of
Curing all Consumptions Coughs, and Spitting of Blood. With
Remarkable Observations touching the same DISEASES. To
which are Added, Some brief Discourses of Melancholy,
Madness, and Distraction occasioned by Love. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Diverting
Divert (v)
OED Diverting n. The action of the verb divert.Also attrib.
1611 (OED)
(...) the accidentall, is that which we call rauing, as chaunceth in
[/82./] hote feuers, and other maladies, wherein hote fewmes
ascend to the head, or by hote and cold ayre, as sayth Avicen,
also by putrefaction and venenosity of our meat and drinke, and
330

APPENDIX
Tokens
is cured by diuerting the fumes with frictions and ligators of the
extremities, vsing Glisters, and rubbing the head and necke with
Oxyrodinum, and diuers other things which may be prescribed by
the learned Phisition. Lowe, Art.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Dividing
Base
Divide (v)
Definition OED Dividing n. The action of the verb divide. Cf. Division n.
1.a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1526-34 (OED)
Example
And therfore it is an instrument of two vertues namely of
thynkyng and diuidyng, and of inferrynge one thynge of another.
De Vigo, Excellent.
Tokens
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Division
Base
Middle English de–, divisioun, (...) < dīvidĕre (to divide)
Definition OED Division n. 1. a. The action of dividing or state of being
divided into parts or branches; partition, severance. Cf. Dividing
n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1374 (OED)
Example
The .j. is, he ought to consider what operation it is that he ought
to doe to mans body. And it is knowen by the diuision of the
operations of Chyrurgerie aforesayd, that is to knit the thing
deuided. Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 12
Nominalization Divulsion
Base < French divulsion (...) or < Latin dīvulsiōn-em, n. of action <
dīvellĕre (to divulse)
Definition OED Divulsion n. The action of tearing, pulling, or plucking
asunder; the condition of being torn apart (from something); a
rending asunder, violent separation, laceration. Also fig.
Earliest attestation 1603 (OED)
Example
Now solution of unity is either gathered by reason, or
deprehended by sense. In tumors, although the parts seeme to the
eye [/19./] united; yet reason teacheth us, that there is a
divulsion of them: The doctrine of tumors therefore ought to be
the first particular Treatise. Read, Workes.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Doing
Do (v)
OED Doing n. 1. a. The action of the verb do; action, proceeding,
conduct; performance or execution of something. Esp. in colloq.
phr. to take a bit of (or lot of, some) doing: to require all one's
331

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
efforts; to be difficult to do.
c1325 (OED)
(...) that Nature may be in a capacity of doing its own work, and
by virtue of its Balsam re-unite, agglutinate, consolidate, and
heal the Wounds: in all which Intentions she is the Agent, and the
Chirurgeon only the Assistent. Wiseman, Wounds.
11 (7 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Dominion
Base
< obsolete French dominion (...), < Latin type *dominiōn-em,
derivative of domini-um (property, ownership) < domin-us (lord)
Definition OED Dominion n. 1. The power or right of governing and
controlling; sovereign authority; lordship, sovereignty; rule,
sway; control, influence.
Earliest attestation 1430 (OED)
Example
And these inequalities come by [/12./] reason of some unequall
mixture of the foure elements in us, and the dominion of some
one or other above the rest. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Dosing
Dose (v)
Division into doses.
Cf. Dose v. trans. To divide into, or administer in, doses.
Earliest attestation 1697 (EMEMT)
Example
That nothing makes the Physicians Art more conjectural than the
dosing of Medicins. Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Doting
Base
Dote (v)
Definition OED Doting n. The action of the verb dote.
Earliest attestation c1440 (OED)
Example
The melancholie passion is a doting of reason through vaine
feare procured by fault of the melancholie humour. Bright,
Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Drawing
Draw (v)
OED Drawing n. 1. a. gen. The action of the verb draw in its
various senses: the imparting of motion or impulse in the
direction of the actuating force; pulling, dragging, draught,
hauling, traction; attraction, extraction, removal, derivation;
formal composition (of a document), †translation, etc.
332

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
c1305 (OED)
(...) the said Hypochondriack patient is præcipitated (forced)
into, whereby the spirits being rendred dull, stupid, languid
(fainting), and suppressed, are deserted (left) incapable of
ventilating (breathing) and purifying the blood, and debilitated
(weakened) in attracting (drawing) nutriment for the parts,
which consequently must wither and shrink. Harvey, Morbus.
14 (6 of them verbal gerunds)
Drawing in
Draw in (v)
The action of breathing in.
Cf. Draw v. (Draw in) 3. To take into the lungs, breathe in,
inhale.
Earliest attestation 1666 (EMEMT)
Example
Moreover nothig we find taints sound Lungs sooner, than
inspiring (drawing in) the breath of putrid (stinking and
beginning to rot) ulcer'd, or Consumptive Lungs; many having
fallen into Consumptions only by smelling the breath or spittle of
Consumptives, others by drinking after them; and what is more,
by wearing the Cloaths of Consumptives, though two years after
they were left off. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Dressing
Base
Dress (v)
Definition OED Dressing n. 1. a. The action of dress, in various senses.
Earliest attestation c1440 (OED)
Example
Chiron Achilles his Master is said by Plinie to have had great skil
in the knowledge of simples, and that he was skilful in dressing
of wounds, both his name sheweth, (for it is likely he was called
Chiron, because he was skilfull [^p.5^] in the manuall part: (...).
Read, Workes.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Drinking
Drink (v)
OED Drinking n. 1. The action or habit denoted by drink; spec.
the use of intoxicating liquor, or indulgence therein to excess.
c1200 (OED)
What then must become of such a one, [^p.347^] after a hard
drinking for many months together, if he chance in heat of drink
to be wounded, and from that time his Chirurgeon condemn him
to Ptisan for a week together, nay two days? Wiseman, Wounds.
9 (one of them a verbal gerund)
333

APPENDIX
Nominalization Dropping
Base
Drop (v)
Definition OED Dropping n. 2. The action of falling or descending
vertically; also, of letting anything fall.
Earliest attestation c1315 (OED)
Example
For somtimes it taketh course to the eyes, and thereof commeth a
dropping and inflammation of the eyes, and a dimnesse and
losse of sight; somtimes it taketh course by the nose, and is called
the pose; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Drowning
Base
Drown (v)
Definition OED Drowning n. The action of the verb drown, in its various
senses.
Earliest attestation 1539 (OED)
Example
THe common chink, through which errors and erroneous
opinions do and have slipt into the Scholastique republique, to
the endangering and enfoncing (drowning) of truth, is the too
frequent misapprehension of the name of a thing, which being
understood in one sense by me, and in another by you, must
necessarily occasion us to discrepate (disagree) in the thing it
self; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Drying
Dry (v)
OED Drying n. The action of the verb dry; abstraction of
moisture; desiccation. Also with adv., as drying-up.
1398 (OED)
This cholerick humor as the former is either naturall or
unnaturall: the naturall is an humor in quality hot and dry, but
not actually dry, for that in touching it is felt to be moist, but
potentially, for that it hath the power of drying, and in substance
thin, in colour yellow, and in taste bitter. Holland, Gutta.
8 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Duration
< obsolete French duration, < late Latin dūrātiōn-em, n. of action
< dūrāre (to harden, to endure)
OED Duration n. 1. a. Lasting, continuance in time; the
continuance or length of time; the time during which a thing,
action, or state continues.
c1384 (OED)
(...) or otherwise they might have Spun the thred of their lives
much longer, their principles of life being created in them to
extend to an Eval duration (lasting without end.) Harvey,
334

APPENDIX
Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Dying
Base
Die (v)
Definition OED Dying n. 1. a. Ceasing to live, expiring, decease, death.
Earliest attestation 1297 (OED)
Example
A Consumption is the dying of a living Creature through dryness.
Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Eating
Eat (v)
OED Eating n. 1. a. The action or habit of taking food.
c1175 (OED)
Also yf thou haue lost appetit of eatynge, boyle well these leaues
in cleane water, & when the water is colde, put therunto asmuch
of whit Wine, & then make therin Soppes, eate thou therof wel
and thou shalt restore thy appetyte agayne. Partridge, Treasurie.
6 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Edition
Base
< French ēdition, < Latin ēditiōn-em, < ēdĕre (to put forth, to
publish)
Definition OED Edition n. †1. The action of putting forth, or making public;
publication. Obs.
Earliest attestation 1551 (OED)
Example
(...) althoughe I intende not here to make demonstrations of the
Theoremes, bycause it is appoynted to be done in the newe
edition of Euclide, yet I wyll shew you brefely how the equalitee
of the partes doth stande. Record, Geometrie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Effecting
Base
Effect (v)
Definition OED Effecting n. The action of effect. Cf. also Effection n. 1. a.,
in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1581 (OED)
Example
The Third Intention is, Deligation, or retaining the Parts so
joyned together. [/15./] For the effecting of this, our famous
Masters have left us two principal means, Fasciæ and Suturæ,
Rowling and Stitching: to which some, nay most of them, added
Fibulas, or Clasps. But I will not put you upon that. Wiseman,
Wounds.
Tokens 3
335

APPENDIX
Nominalization Effection
Base
< classical Latin effectiōn–, (...) < effect–, past participial stem of
efficere (to effect) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Effection n. Obs. 1. a. Fabrication, formation, production.
Cf. Effecting n. 4., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1623 (OED)
Example
Now to know what part of Philosophie Chirurgery is to be
referred, [/9./] we must consider that there be two parts in
Philosophie: whereof the one is speculative, whose end is
knowledge; The other [/10./] practick, whose end is practice.
Now practice hath two differences, Action, and Effection. Action
leaveth no worke behind it: Effection doth. Read, Workes.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Effussion
Base
< (directly or through French effusion, 14th cent. in Littré) Latin
effūsiōn-em, n. of action < effund-ĕre (to effund)
Definition OED Effusion n. 1. a. (a) A pouring out, a spilling (of liquid);
†shedding (of tears). effusion of blood: bloodshed, slaughter; also
in general sense, the pouring out of blood by a wound, etc.
Earliest attestation c14... (OED)
Example
(...) so it is better to knit the vaines and artiers, or cauterize them,
which I haue doone with good successe, and was vsed by our
Ancients where there was great effusion of blood in the vaines
and artiers, and now commonly vsed in the intestines, stomacke,
and bladder, and such other membrainous parts. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Elaboration
Base
< late Latin ēlabōrātiōn-em, noun of action < ēlabōrāre (to
elaborate)
Definition OED Elaboration n. a. The process of producing or developing
from crude materials; †spec. in Chemistry. Also, the process of
working out in detail, developing, perfecting (an invention, a
theory, a literary work, etc.).
Earliest attestation 1548 (PPCEME)
Example
And the aforesayde spirite or breath taketh a further digestion,
and there it is made animal; by the elaboration of the spirite
vital, is turned and made animal. Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Election
< Old French election, < Latin ēlectiōn-em, n. of action < ēligĕre
(to elect)
OED Election n. 2. a. The exercise of deliberate choice or
preference; choice between alternatives, esp. in matters of
conduct. †at or in (one's) election: at (one's) option or discretion.
336

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation c1270 (OED)
Example
Which things when I have set down, I shall shut up this Lecture;
permitting election to the Governours whether they will have me
proceed methodically, through the whole course of Chirurgery,
or scatteredly to handle dispersed parts of the same as hitherto
hath been done. Read, Workes.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Emanation
Base
< Latin ēmānātiōn-em, < ēmānāre (to emanate)
Definition OED Emanation n. 1. b. The action of emitting, evolving,
producing.
Earliest attestation 1570 (OED)
Example
(...) as I have sometimes manifestly known it, a kind of degree of
Attrition, frees the Surface from those adherences that might
choak the pores of the Amber, or at least hinder the emanation
of the steams to be so free and copious as otherwise it would be.
Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Embalming
Base
Embalm (v)
Definition OED Embalming n. The action of the verb embalm. Also attrib.
Earliest attestation c1525 (OED)
Example
(...) but when it is dead, the spirit returning to God, who gave it,
he ceaseth not to be officious to it, in dissecting of it, for the
instruction of himselfe and others, and preserving it from
putrefaction and annoyance, untill time and place fit for burying
of it be offered: which he compasseth partly, by encearing of it,
partly by embaulming: (...). Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Emission
Base
< Latin ēmissiōn-em, n. of action < ēmittĕre (to emit)
Definition OED Emission n. 4. a. The action of giving off or sending out
(chiefly what is subtle or imponderable, light, heat, gases, odours,
sounds, etc.). †Formerly also the sending forth (of the soul) in
death; the allowing ‘the animal spirits’ to escape; and fig. the
‘pouring out’, ‘breathing forth’ (of affection, etc.). Cf. also
Emitting n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a 1626 (OED)
Example
(...) and it seems to me, that the reason why he rejects the way of
explicating Attraction by the Emission of the finer parts of the
attrahent to which Hypothesis, if ti be rightly proposed I confess
myself very inclinable is grounded upon a mistake, (...). Boyle,
Magnetism.
Tokens 2
337

APPENDIX
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Emitting
Emit (v)
OED Emitting n. The action of emit. Cf. also Emission n. 4. a., in
same sense.
1675-76 (PPCEME)
For the Attrition having caus’d an intestine commotion in the
parts of the Concrete, the heat or warmth that is thereby excited
ought not to cease, as soon as ever the rubbing is over, but to
continue capable of emitting Effluvia for some time afterwards,
which will be longer or shorter according to the goodness of the
Electric, (...). Boyle, Magnetism.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Employing
Employ (v)
OED Employing n. a. The action of the verb employ. Cf. also
Employment n. 1. a., in same sense.
1607 (OED)
And my particular Observations incline me to adde, that the
effect may oftentimes be much promoted, by employing both
these ways successively; as I thought I manifestly found when I
first warm’d the Amber at the fire, and presently after chaf’d it a
little upon a piece of cloth. Boyle, Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Employment
Base
Employ (v)
Definition OED Employment n. 1. a. The action or process of employing;
the state of being employed. Also in phrase, †(man, etc.) of
much, little, etc. employment . Cf. Employing n. 1. a., in same
sense.
Earliest attestation 1598 (OED)
Example
But on the contrary, it's ordinary for Smiths, Cooks, and others,
whose imployment is conversant about the Fire, to incurre such
an extreme dryness of their Lungs, that in the dissection of their
Carcasses, they appear liker Spunges than moist Lungs; the like
observation you'l read below touching the withered Lungs of one
Pendarves. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Emulation
< Latin æmulātiōn-em, n. of action < æmulā-ri.
OED Emulation n. 1. The endeavour to equal or surpass others in
any achievement or quality; also, the desire or ambition to equal
or excel.
1552 (OED)
338

APPENDIX
Example
Now it is most probable, I may say demonstrative, that what
strange event did first minister occasion to invent an Art, that
that Art was first enquired for & found out; Such was the
wounding and killing of Abel, by his brother Cain, by reason of
emulation. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Encouragement
Base
< French encouragement
Definition OED Encouragement n. The action or process of encouraging,
the fact of being encouraged (see senses of the vb.); concr. a fact
or circumstance which serves to encourage.
Earliest attestation 1550 (OED)
Example
Upon which encouragement we suspended it, being first well
chafed, in a Glass Received that was not great, just over a light
Body; and making haste with our Air-Pump to exhaust the Glass,
when the Air was withdrawn, we did bya Contrivance let down
the suspended Amber till it came very near the Straw or Feather,
(...). Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Encroaching
Base
Encroach (v)
Definition OED Encroaching n. Obs. The action of encroach.
Earliest attestation 1539 (OED)
Example
(...) we are all puzzled so much about, yet never otherwise to be
known; and I hope I have explained them too as fully, as my time
and subject, and my resolution to avoid incroaching too far upon
the true doctrine of Pulses and Phlebotomy will allow: and
therefore I shall proceed to the Cure of our sicknesses this year,
which is the main design of this work. Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Ending
Base
End (v)
Definition OED Ending n. 1. The action of the verb end: termination,
conclusion, completion; †death, etc.
Earliest attestation c1000 (OED)
Example
In the mene space, know that this disease (because it most did
stand in sweating from the beginning vntil the endyng) was
called here, the Sweating sickenesse: and because it firste
beganne in Englande, it was named in other countries, [^f.9v^]
the englishe sweat. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Endangering
Endanger (v)
339

APPENDIX
Definition OED Endangering n. The action of endanger.
Earliest attestation 1585 (OED)
Example
THe common chink, through which errors and erroneous
opinions do and have slipt into the Scholastique republique, to
the endangering and enfoncing (drowning) of truth, is the too
frequent misapprehension of the name of a thing, which being
understood in one sense by me, and in another by you, must
necessarily occasion us to discrepate (disagree) in the thing it
self; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Enfoncing
Base
Enfonce (v)
Definition OED Enforcing n. The action of enforce in its various senses.
†concr. that which enforces.
Earliest attestation 138. (OED)
Example
THe common chink, through which errors and erroneous
opinions do and have slipt into the Scholastique republique, to
the endangering and enfoncing (drowning) of truth, is the too
frequent misapprehension of the name of a thing, which being
understood in one sense by me, and in another by you, must
necessarily occasion us to discrepate (disagree) in the thing it
self; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Engaging
Base
Engage (v)
Definition OED Engaging n. The action of engage, in various senses. Also
attrib., as in engaging guard (Mil.).
Earliest attestation 1611 (OED)
Example
The Prognosticks are there also delivered, that the young
Chirurgeon may be informed how to make judgement of them,
and avoid the ingaging himself in promising a Cure of such
Wounds as are mortal. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Engendering
Base
Engender (v)
Definition OED Engendering n. The action of engender, in various senses.
Earliest attestation a1500 (OED)
Example
The purest part which we call in comparison and in respect of the
rest bloud, is temperate in qualitie, and moderate in substance,
exceeding all the other parts in quantitie, if the bodie be of equall
temper, made for nourishment of the most temperate parts, and
ingendring of spirits. Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
340

APPENDIX
Nominalization Enjoying
Base
Enjoy (v)
Definition OED Enjoying n. The action of the verb enjoy; enjoyment.
Earliest attestation 1536 (OED)
Example
For as for Agricultura and ars pastoralis, husbandry and
grazing, they would have been required of man, if he had
continued in the state of innocency, to have furnished unto him
nourishment, and other things requisite for the enjoying of this
life contendedly, untill he should have been translated from earth
to heaven to enjoy the beatificall vision of his Creator. Read,
Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Enlarging
Base
Enlarge (v)
Definition OED Enlarging n. 1. The action of enlarge in its various senses.
Earliest attestation a1513 (OED)
Example
Secondly, a falling of the small guts into the cod by enlarging or
renting of the production of the Peritonæum, which we call a
rupture. Read, Workes.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Entering
Base
Enter (v)
Definition OED Entering n. 1. a. The action of enter in various senses. Cf.
also Entrance n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1382 (OED)
Example
Now the Corruption of the nutritious Juice cannot be perform'd
without a sort of Fermentation; and it is the fermenting Particles,
that fretting the Fibers, cause inflammations in Wounds; and by
entring into the Blood, and dividing its Texture, cause
Symtomatic Fevers, which frequently prove so fatal. Colbatch,
Novum.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Entertainment
Base
Entertain (v)
Definition OED Entertainment n. †3. Maintenance; support; sustenance.
Obs.
Earliest attestation 1586 (EMEMT)
Example
True [^p.13^] it is, that the particular nourishment containeth not
so manie sutes, as the earth the nourisher of all things doth: yet it
answereth in proportio~ to the part which it hath to sustaine. So
that the masse of bloud being the vniuersall soile, wa~teth not for
the relief & entertainment of al the me~bers of the bodie, choise
of substance according to their varietie. Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 3
341

APPENDIX
Nominalization Entrance
Base
< Old French entrance, < entrer (enter).
Definition OED Entrance n. 1. a. The action of coming or going in. Cf. also
Entering n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1602 (PPCEME)
Example
(...) as I haue obserued the best learned haue heeretofore done in
all times and ages, that is vnto the Iunior or yonger Chirugions:
who, as it were, haue made but an entrance into the practice of
the said facultie, whose skill peradventure is as yet not so
profound, that they are able to search or obtaine the knowledge
out of strange tonges, (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Entreating
Base
Entreat (v)
Definition OED Entreating n. 1. b. Discussion (of); dealing (with a subject).
Earliest attestation 1526 (OED)
Example
Rasis out of the Assirian toung, translated a pretye libell into the
Greke intreating of the pestilence, shewynge howe and by what
signes it is perceiued to molest theym that [/66./] firste haue it:
(...). Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Environing
Environ (v)
OED Environing n. 2. The action of the verb environ (in various
senses); an instance of this.
1586 (OED)
(...) by inuironing and compassing it round about with some
repercussiue Medicaments, lest the grieued part which by long
infirmity is become thereby sore weakned & enfeebled and may
so bring with it great swelling & other euill accidents: (...)
Clowes, Artificiall.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Erosion
Base
< French erosion, < Latin ērōsiōn-em, n. of action < ērōdĕre (to
erode)
Definition OED Erosion n. 1. a. The action or process of eroding; the state
or fact of being eroded. spec. in Geol.
Earliest attestation ?1541 (OED)
Example
The fourth kinde of greefe is by way of erosion, when as the part
affected doth feele a greevous gnawing and fretting; which kinde
of greife commeth either of a cholerick humor, or else of a
corruption and depravation of other humors. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 2
342

APPENDIX
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Estimating
Estimate (v)
The act of assigning a value to something.
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens 1
Cf. Estimate v. †1. a. trans. To assign a value to; to appraise,
assess; to fix proportionately (penalties, wages, etc.). Const. at.
Obs.
1675-1976 (PPCEME)
And though, by this success of my inquiry, I perceived I could
not, as else I might have done, shew the Curious a new way of
judging of true and false Emralds, yet the like way may be,
though not always certain, yet oftentimes of use, in the
estimating whether Diamonds be true or of counterfeit (...).
Boyle, Magnetism.
Nominalization Estimation
Base Middle English estimacion, (...) < Latin æstimātiōn-em, <
æstimāre (to estimate)
Definition OED Estimation n. 2. a. Appreciation, valuation in respect of
excellence or merit; esteem considered as a sentiment. Phrase, to
have (also hold) in estimation.
Earliest attestation c1522 (OED)
Example
Wher as in deade if for a season they woulde take the more
paynes them selues, & admitte none, but such as shuld be
somwhat meet, there wolde be a nombre glade to studye the art,
because it woulde come to estimation, and be a worshipfull
lyuynge to the professer. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Evacuating
Base
Evacuate (v)
Definition OED Evacuating n. In senses of the verb. Also attrib. Cf. also
Evacuation n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1594 (OED)
Example
And therefore the differences of the degrees will not only make
up the true warmth and different pulses, but comparing the
warmths upon occasions in Fevers we can find how much more it
is than that which is natural, and even the exceeding numbers of
pulses, which will not only be of infinite use for evacuating in
Fevers which we propose, but if we compare the different and
vast excesses of heat [^p.25^] that may be in our body, will soon
be convinc'd, that the most violent symptoms may proceed from
them, (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 2
343

APPENDIX
Nominalization Evacuation
Base
< late Latin ēvacuātiōn-em, n. of action < ēvacuā-re (to evacuate)
Definition OED Evacuation n. The action of evacuating; the condition of
being evacuated. 1. spec. a. Med. The action or process of
depleting (the body or any organ), or of clearing out (morbid
matter, ‘humours’, etc.), by medicine or other artificial means.
rare in recent use. Cf. also Evacuating n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
If it happen by great euacuation of bloud, it is mortall, as sayth
Hippocrates, and better it is, that a feuer come in a convulsion,
then convulsion in feuer: spasme after feuers, is mortall, as saith
Hipocrates? Lowe, Art.
Tokens 14
Nominalization Evaporating
Base
Evaporate (v)
Definition OED Evaporating n. The action of evaporate; lit. and fig. Cf. also
Evaporation n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1602 (PPCEME)
Example
And for that I wold haue this second Intention made plaine as
much as in me lyeth and also familiarly knowne vnto the studyous
Reader: I doe therfore say, It is meete and conuenient, that those
Medicamentes whic are to be vsed, be of the Nature and property
to molifie and discusse, and so to open the powers of the skinne
by euaporating, breathing and scattering abroad, and make
thinne the grosse matter and Phlegme. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Evaporation
Base < French évaporation, < Latin ēvapōrātiōn-em, n. of action <
ēvapōrā-re (to evaporate)
Definition OED Evaporation n. 1. a. The action or process of conversion
into vapour; the action of passing off in vapour; an instance of
this. Cf. also Evaporating n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
The softer and moister parts being thus melted away, the Febril
(Feaverish) heat continuing its adustion (burning) upon the dryer
fleshy parts, changes into a Marcid Feaver, which said parts
wasting gradually throught an insensible evaporation of their
subtiler particles, are at length dryed up into the hardness and
toughness of Leather. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Examination
Base < French examination, < Latin exāminātiōn-em, n. of action <
exāmināre (to examine)
Definition OED Examination n. The action of examining; the state of being
344

APPENDIX
examined. †1. A testing, trial, proof, assay. Also fig. Obs. Cf.
Examining n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1510 (OED)
Example
Nor is this kind of Texture peculiar to Cork onely; for upon
examination with my Microscope, I have found that the pith of
an Elder, or almost any other Tree, the inner pulp or pith of the
Cany hollow stalks of several other Vegetables: (...). Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Examining
Examine (v)
OED Examining n. a. The action of examine, in various senses.
Cf. Examination n., in same sense.
c1386 (OED)
(...) whereas by not examining so far as he might, he has set
down an Explication which Experiment do’s contradict. Hooke,
Life.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Exception
Base
< Anglo-Norman excepcioun (French exception ), < Latin
exceptiōn-em, n. of action < excipĕre (to except)
Definition OED Exception n. 1. a. The action of excepting (a person or
thing, a particular case) from the scope of a proposition, rule,
etc.; the state or fact of being so excepted. Const. from, to.
Earliest attestation c1385 (OED)
Example
Only I must confess, that tho I have put it beyond exception, by
arguments from reason and experience, that Evacuation in the
case of Fevers is absolutely necessary towards their Cure, and
tho I have also declar'd that this Evacuation is to be
proportionable to the interrupted perspiration, that causes our
Fevers, (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Excoriation
Base
Excoriate (v)
Definition OED Excoriation n. 1. The action of excoriating; the state of
being excoriated: b. the action of abrading a portion of the
cuticle, or of the coating of any organ of the body; an instance of
this.
Earliest attestation 1447 (OED)
Example
This vnguent is for iche of the leggs and inflamation, excoriation,
burning and blisteringe, comminge of whote humours, and for
whote and sharpe vlcerations. &c. Gale, Antidotaire.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Excrescence
345

APPENDIX
Base
< Latin excrēscentia, < excrēscent-em
Definition OED Excrescence n. †1. a. The action of growing out or forth.
Also, immoderate growth, overflow, abnormal increase.
Earliest attestation 1533 (OED)
Example
Encanthis is an excrescence of the same flesh which is in the
greater Cantho, but Rhinas is when the same caruncle being
eroded and eaten, doth appeare as it were hanging forth. Bailey,
Preseruation.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Execution
Middle English execucion, < Anglo-Norman execucioun, French
exécution, < Latin execūtiōn-em, exsecūtiōn-em, n. of action <
ex(s)equī (to execute)
OED Execution n. 1. a. The action of carrying into effect (a plan,
design, purpose, command, decree, task, etc.); accomplishment:
an instance of this. Also, to carry into execution, †to order into
execution, to put in execution or to put into execution.
c1374 (OED)
Quailes likewise feede of neesing powder seedes, and feldfares of
hemlocke, the one [^p.9^] much approching nigh vnto, and the
other famous by the Athenian executions, for most infamous
poison, al which notwithstanding, their flesh is not refused at the
tables of the most delicate and daintiest: (...). Bright,
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Definition
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Exercising
Exercise (v)
OED Exercising n. a. The action of the verb exercise; an exercise.
Also attrib.
1508 (OED)
Chyrurgery is science, that teacheth the manner and qualitie to
work, principally in knitting, in cutting, and exercising other
workes of the hande. In healing of man, as much as it is possible.
Chauliac, Qvydos.
3 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Exerting
Exert (v)
OED Exerting n. The action of exert; †an instance of this, an
exertion.
a1665 (OED)
For its strength, the Microscope is able to make no greater
discoveries of it then the naked eye, but onely the curious
contrivance of its leggs and joints, for the exerting that strength,
is very plainly manifested, such as no other creature, I have yet
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observ’d, has any thing like it; (...). Hooke, Life.
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Exhibiting
Exhibit (v)
OED Exhibiting n. The action of exhibit in various senses. Cf.
Exhibition n. 4., in same sense.
1620 (OED)
Thus we see that as the practice of Chirurgery was necessary
before the floud, so we cannot gather by any obscure conjectures,
that that part of Physick which cureth by exhibiting internall
medicaments was in use. Read, Workes.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Exhibition
Base
< Old French exhibicion, French exhibition, < late Latin
exhibitiōn-em, n. of action < exhibēre (to exhibit)
Definition OED Exhibition n. 4. Med. The administration of a remedy. Cf.
also Exhibiting n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1650 (EMEMT)
Example
And seeing the operation of a Chirurgion is more subject to the
eye and other senses, than the exhibition of medicaments is, it
behoveth every one to be well verst in that which he taketh in
hand, seeing his practice is more subject to censure: (...). Read,
Workes.
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Base
Expelling
Expel (v)
The act of ejecting any foreign substance out of the body or its
organs. Cf. Expulsing n and Expulsion n. a., in same sense.
Cf. Expel v. 1. c. Of the body or its organs: To cast out, eject (the
contents, any foreign substance, excrements, etc.); = exclude v. 7.
Also said of the action of drugs, etc.
1532 (OED)
It cures Apostemes. New Vlcers. Tumors in or about the Eyes. It's
a more forcible repercussiue against cold humors, then any other
medicine whatsoeuer. [/30./]. Being applied to the Teeth, it cures
all sorts of Toothache. Kils wormes in the Teeth. It's also
wonderfull in expelling and curing all cold poysons of Toades,
Spiders, Serpents, Scorpions, and such like. Bonham,
Chyrvrgians.
1 (verbal gerund)
Experience
< French expérience, < Latin experientia, < experient-em, present
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participle of experīrī (to try, to put to test)
Definition OED Experience n. †1. a. The action of putting to the test; trial.
to make experience of: to make trial of. Obs. Cf. also Experiment
n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1393 (OED)
Example
Many of them have set down sundry things not tryed by
experience, but imagined by their fancy, which the sickle of triall
will prune. Read, Workes.
Tokens 17
Nominalization Experiment
Base < Old French experiment, < Latin experīment-um, n. of action <
experīrī (to try)
Definition OED Experiment n. 1. a. The action of trying anything, or putting
it to proof; a test, trial; esp. in phrases, to make (an) experiment,
†to take (an) experiment . Const. of. Now somewhat arch. Cf.
also Experience n. †1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1382 (OED)
Example
We have found by Experiment, That a vigorous and well excited
piece of Amber will draw, not onely the powder of Amber, but
less minute fragments of it. Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 15
Nominalization Expiring
Base
Expire (v)
Definition OED Expiring n. a. The action of expire in its various senses.
Earliest attestation 1612 (OED)
Example
(...) I found the shining sparks to be, as it were, cloath’d with
light ashes, which, in spite of my diligence, had been already
form’d about the attracted Corpuscles, upon the expiring of a
good part of the fire; (...). Boyle, Magnetism.
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Definition
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Explaining
Explain (v)
OED Explaining n. The action of explain; †an explanation. Cf.
also Explanation n. 1., Explicating n. and Explication n. 2., in
same sense.
a1586 (OED)
Being now conscious of the great errors and dangers, that may
result out of a mis-conception of the names of things, shall so
much the more apply my endevours to a distinct explanation
(explaining) of the names of my Subject, which usually are
variously understood. Harvey, Morbus.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Explanation
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Base
< Latin explānātiōn-em, n. of action < explānāre (to explain)
Definition OED Explanation n. 1. The action or process of explaining; an
instance of the same. Cf. also Explaining n., Explicating n. and
Explication n. 2., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1382 (OED)
Example
This by the way; but to return to the explanation of the forestated
description: Putrid Feavers depend upon the putrefaction (or a
tendance to Corruption) of the blood, whose immediate effect is
the corruption of the said nutritive (nourishing) humours, (...).
Harvey, Morbus.
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Base
Definition
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Explicating
Explicate (v)
OED Explicating n. (in Explicate v.) The action of the verb
explicate. Cf. also Explaining n., Explanation n. 1. and
Explication n. 2., in same sense.
1531 (OED)
(...) and it seems to me, that the reason why he rejects the way of
explicating Attraction by the Emission of the finer parts of the
attrahent to which Hypothesis, if it be rightly proposed I confess
myself very inclinable is grounded upon a mistake, (...). Boyle,
Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Explication
Base < French explication, < Latin explicātiōn-em, n. of action <
explicāre (to explicate)
Definition OED Explication n. 2. The process of developing or bringing out
what is implicitly contained in a notion, proposition, principle,
etc.; the result of this process. Cf. also Explaining n., Explanation
n. 1 and Explicating n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1656 (OED)
Example
In the explication whereof, I will first declare what the Gout is:
[/5./] Next what are the causes thereof. Thirdly, by what signes
each cause is to be knowne. Fourthly, whether it may be cured or
no. Fiftly, what kinde of cure belongeth unto it. And lastly, how a
man may bee preserved from it. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Exposition
Base < French exposition, < Latin expositiōn-em, n. of action <
expōnĕre (past participle exposit-us)
Definition OED Exposition n. 4. a. The action or process of setting forth,
declaring, or describing, either in speech or writing.
Earliest attestation 1460 (OED)
Example
(...) your eye may iudg without muche declaracion, so that I shall
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not neede to make more exposition therof, but that you may
examine it, as you did in the laste Theoreme. Record, Geometrie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Expression
Base < French expression, < Latin expressiōn-em, n. of action <
exprimĕre (to express)
Definition OED Expression n. 1. a. The action of pressing or squeezing out.
Earliest attestation 1594 (OED)
Example
Then make a strong expression, and adde to the expressed oyle,
the gums and powders, with three pints of muscadell or malmsy,
&. Terebint. clarissimæ, lb j Boyle all this together (as before)
vnto the wasting of the wine. Bonham, Chyrvrgians.
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Base
Definition
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Expulsing
Expulse (v)
The act of expelling any foreign substance out of the body. Cf.
Expelling n. and Expulsion n. a., in same sense.
Cf. Expulse v. Obs. with a material thing as obj.: To drive out by
mechanical force. Of the body, its parts or organs: To eject, expel
(the contents, any foreign substance, excrements, etc.). Also said
of the action of drugs, etc. Cf. expel v.
1525 (EMEMT)
The othe by expulsynge the superfluytes that causeth feblenesse/
as medycyns laxatyues/ and many other thynges auoydynge
superfluytes & of that maner is gold/ for by his spyryte it
withdraweth the superflue moystnesse. Anonymous, Newe.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Expulsion
Base
< Latin expulsiōn-em, n. of action < expellĕre (to expel)
Definition OED Expulsion n. a. The action of expelling, or driving out by
force (a person or thing); the turning out (of a person) from an
office, a society, etc. Also the fact or condition of being expelled.
Also attrib., as expulsion order. Cf. Expelling n. and Expulsing
n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1513 (OED)
Example
Now when this naturall heat by any sinister meanes is infirmed
and weakned, then do the functions of that part faile in their duty;
for neither can there bee good concoction in the part as should
be, neither sufficient expulsion of the superfluities left of that
concoction in the part, as should bee. Holland, Gutta.
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Nominalization
Exsiccating
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Base
Definition
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Example
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Exsiccate (v)
The act of drying, absorbing or removing all moisture from sth.
Cf. Exsiccate v. 1. trans. To dry, make dry, absorb or remove all
moisture from; to drain (a spring) dry; to dry up (moisture).
1563 (EMEMT)
These .ij. vnguentes are excellent in exciccating ericipelas, filthy
vlcers, also for vlcers of the legges, and doe fyll the holowe and
emptye partes, it dothe further more refrigerate and cicatrise.
Gale, Institution.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Exspuition
Base < Latin exspuitiōn-em, n. of action < exspuĕre, < ex– (out) +
spuĕre (to spit)
Definition OED Exspuition n. The action of spitting out from the mouth.
Const. of. Also transf. and concr.
Earliest attestation 1633 (EMEMT)
Example
(...) somtimes it taketh course by the nose, and is called the pose;
sometimes to the mouth, and causeth great expuition, and
spitting, and the falling of the uvula, and toothach; (...). Holland,
Gutta.
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Definition
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Base
Definition
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Example
Extending
Extend (v)
OED Extending n. The action of extend; also an instance of this.
Cf. Extension n.1., in same sense.
?1541 (OED)
(...) but the other implyes a very difficult cure, not by restoring
the Spermatick parts, (which as we shewed in the preceeding
Chapter is impossible;) but only by stenting and removing the
corruption of the forementioned essentials. Harvey, Morbus.
1 (verbal gerund)
Extension
The two forms extention (Middle English extencioun) and
extension are < Latin extentiōn-em, extensiōn-em, n. of action <
extendĕre (past participles extentus, –tensus ) (to extend)
OED Extension n. 1. The action of forcibly stretching or
straining; strained state or condition. Cf. Extending n., in same
sense.
1526 (OED)
If a Weapon be fastened betwixt two Joynts, make an Extension
of the [/10./] Parts both ways, as it is the manner in Fractures
and Dislocations, that so the Tendons and Ligaments being
stretched, the Weapon may with more ease come out. Wiseman,
Wounds.
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Tokens 1
Nominalization Extenuation
Base
< Latin extenuātiōn-em, n. of action < extenuāre (to extenuate)
Definition OED Extenuation n. The action of extenuating; extenuated
condition. 1. The action or process of making or becoming thin;
an instance of this; a shrunken condition; leanness, emaciation.
Earliest attestation 1576 (OED)
Example
From thence Pthisis, and an Atrophia hapneth of the eye: I call
that Pthisis which is an extenuation of the pupill, or apple, and
becometh more angustior, and streyter, and more obscure: but
that is an Atrophia, when the whole eye is consumed for want of
nourishment. Bailey, Preseruation.
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Nominalization Extinction
Base
< Latin ex(s)tinctiōn-em, n. of action < ex(s)tinguĕre (to
extinguish)
Definition OED Extinction n. 1. a. The quenching, putting out (of fire, light,
anything burning or shining; fig. hopes, passions, life, etc.); the
fact of being quenched; the process of becoming, or the condition
of being, extinct.
Earliest attestation a1513 (OED)
Example
Marcor, sive ex ægritudine Senectus, sen ex Morbo Senium, is an
extreme diminution or Consumption of the body, following the
extinction (quenching) of the Innate (born and bred in us) heat,
much like to a tree, that's withered or dryed away by excess of
heat, or length of time. Harvey, Morbus.
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Definition
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Base
Definition
Extirpating
Extirpate (v)
The action of removing something by surgical means. Cf. also
Extirpation n. 2. b., in same sense.
Cf. Extirpate v. 2. c. esp. in Surg. To root out, remove (anything
spoken of as having roots).
1650 (EMEMT)
Fourthly, the extirpation of any part, as the breast, when a
cancerous either tumor or ulcer doth possesse it. Here you shall
be acquainted with the safest way of exstirpating a cancer and a
lupus. Read, Workes.
1 (verbal gerund)
Extirpation
< Latin ex(s)tirpātiōn-em, n. of action < ex(s)tirpāre (to extirpate)
OED Extirpation n. 2. b. Surg. The operation of removing, by
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excision or the application of caustics, anything having an inward
growth. Cf. Extirpating n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1650 (EMEMT)
Example
Fourthly, the extirpation of any part, as the breast, when a
cancerous either tumor or ulcer doth possesse it. Here you shall
be acquainted with the safest way of exstirpating a cancer and a
lupus. Read, Workes.
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Nominalization Extracting
Base
Extract (v)
Definition OED Extracting n. The action of extract. Cf. also Extraction n. 1.
a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1626 (OED)
Example
If a Weapon be fastened betwixt two Joynts, make an Extension of
the [/10./] Parts both ways, as it is the manner in Fractures and
Dislocations, that so the Tendons and Ligaments being
stretched, the Weapon may with more ease come out. But do this
with moderation, lest you break some notable Vessels, and a Flux
of bloud or some ill Accident befall you in your extracting it.
Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Extraction
Base
< French extraction (Old French also in semi-popular form
estracion ), < medieval Latin extractiōn-em, n. of action < Latin
extrahĕre (to extract)
Definition OED Extraction n. 1. a. The action or process of drawing
(something) out of a receptacle; the pulling or taking out (of
anything) by mechanical means; †withdrawal or removal (of a
person); an instance of this. Cf. also Extracting n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1530-1 (OED)
Example
For the extraction we scituate the sicke in such forme as when he
was hurt, and seeke the strange thing, either with a sound or
finger which is most sure, and draw it forth with the least paine
that may be. Lowe, Art.
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Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Exulceration
< Latin exulcerātiōn-em, n. of action < exulcerāre
OED Exulceration n. 1. a. Ulceration. Also, ‘the early stage or
commencement of ulceration’ (Mayne Exp. Lex.).
1541 (OED)
ALmonds taken before meate, stop the belly, & nourish but 2 litle
especially blaunched. Bitter Almonds doe open the stoppings of
the lungs, liuer, milt, kidneys, & all other inner parts and are
good against the cough, shortnesse of winde, inflamation,
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[^p.14^] and exculceration of the lungs being mixed with
Turpentine and licked in. Langham, Garden.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Fainting
Base
Faint (v)
Definition OED Fainting n. The action of faint.
Earliest attestation c1540 (c1400) (OED)
Example
The Symptomes shew what part is chiefly affected. If the heart be
suddenly smitten, the vital faculty is dejected; the pulse is weak,
the heart beats, the mind is troubled, there is fainting. Sennert,
Practical.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Falling
Base
Fall (v)
Definition OED Falling n. The action of fall.
Earliest attestation c1300 (OED)
Example
It helpeth the holy fire, apostumes and woundes of the eyes, it
stoppeth the termes, it healeth creeping sores, the falling of the
matrix, it stayeth vomiting, and strengtheneth the stomake, and
ceaseth paine. Langham, Garden.
Tokens 11
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Falling off
Fall off (v)
The action of dropping off in position.
Cf. Fall off (in Fall v.) 2. To drop off in position; to step aside or
back, withdraw. Also fig. †To recall an offer.
Earliest attestation 1652 (EMEMT)
Example
Of common Reeds and suger Reeds, the roots of common reeds,
draw out thorns, ease sprains, the ashes of them mixed with
vinegar: Take scurf or dandrif off from the head, and prevent the
falling off of the hair, they are hot and dry in the second degree
according to Gallen. Culpeper, London.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Fasciation
< French fasciation
OED Fasciation n. 1. a. The binding up of a limb, etc., with
bandages.
1650 (OED)
Three especial sorts of Fasciation or Rowling, pertaining to our
present [/18./] work, have the Worthies of our Profession
commended to posterity. Wiseman, Wounds.
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Tokens 1
Nominalization Fasting
Base
Fast (v)
Definition OED Fasting n. 1. The action of fast; abstinence from food; an
instance of this.
Earliest attestation c1175 (OED)
Example
China, wonderfully extenuateth and drieth, provoketh sweat,
resisteth putrifaction, it strengthens the liver, helps the dropsy
and malignant ulcers, leprosy, itch, and the French-pocks, and is
profitable in diseases coming of fasting. Culpeper, London.
Tokens 5
Nominalization Fastening
Base
Fasten (v)
Definition OED Fastening n. a. The action of fasten in various senses.
Earliest attestation a1400 (OED)
Example
The pappys or brestys be made as it were a cornelly whyt flesshe
lyke a sponge/ made with vaines/ stryngys/ and senowes/ and ther
fore they haue a festenynge of the lyuer & of the herte.
Braunschweig, Handy.
Tokens 1
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Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
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Feeding
Feed (v)
OED Feeding n. 1. The action of feed, in its various senses.
c897 (OED)
And he that will continue his sight good, must be carefull of ouerplentifull
feeding, and therefore must end his meales with
appetite: and neuer lay gorge vpon gorge, but so feede, that the
former meate may be concocted, before hee doe eate againe.
Bailey, Preseruation.
5 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Feeling
Base
Feel (v)
Definition OED Feeling n. 1. a. The action of feel in various senses; an
instance of the same. Chiefly gerundial.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
TAke honey of Roses, dip Spledgets therein, lay them hot on the
bone untill it doth loosen, dresse it every night for three nights, if
it then loosen not by the sides in feeling, then apply this
Oyntment. Wood, Alphabetical.
Tokens 8
Nominalization
Fermentation
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APPENDIX
Base
< Latin fermentātiōn-em, n. of action < ferment-āre (to ferment)
Definition OED Fermentation n. 1. A process of the nature of that resulting
from the operation of leaven on dough or on saccharine liquids. a.
in applications covered by the modern scientific sense.
Earliest attestation 1601 (OED)
Example
Now the Corruption of the nutritious Juice cannot be perform'd
without a sort of Fermentation; and it is the fermenting
Particles, that fretting the Fibers, cause inflammations in
Wounds; (...). Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Figuration
Base
< French figuration, < Latin figūrātiōn-em, n. of action < figūrāre
(to fashion)
Definition OED Figuration n. 1. a. The action or process of forming into
figure; determination to a certain form.
Earliest attestation 1561 (OED)
Example
(...) but think, that all these, and most other kinds of stony bodies
which are found thus strangely figured, do owe their formation
and figuration, not to any kind of Plastick virtue inherent in the
earth, but to the Shells of certain Shel-fishes, (...). Hooke,
Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Filing
Base
File (v)
Definition OED Filing n. 2 1. The action of file lit. and fig.
Earliest attestation 1340 (OED)
Example
First, that either hammering, or filing, or otherwise violently
rubbing of Steel, will presently make it so hot as to be able to
burn ones fingers. Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Filtration
Base
< French filtration, < filtrer (to filter)
Definition OED Filtration n. 1. The action or process of filtering.
Earliest attestation 1602 (PPCEME)
Example
(...) the rootes being boyled vntil they be very soft poure off the
wine, being full of the tincture therof, and presse strongly the
rootes, the licour being by filtration clensd from all dregs in an
earthen broad pan vpon warme ashes; (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Finding
Find (v)
OED Finding n. 1. a. The action of find in its ordinary senses; an
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Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
instance of the same. Also with out.
c1400 (c1325) (OED)
Fyrst is the redye and good conceyuynge: then a firme and sure
memorye, nexte a sounde and ryght iudgement, after a easye
callynge thinges to mynde whyche he haue harde or sene, and
laste a lyuelye and sharpe redynes in findynge and inuentynge
remedyes. Gale, Institution.
6 (4 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Finishing
Base
Finish (v)
Definition OED Finishing n. 1. The action of finish. Also with off.
Earliest attestation ?1563 (OED)
Example
Fiorouantus. +R. Alb: ouor. ad duritiem Coctor. +o xij.
Terebint: claræ, +o xiiij. Myrrhæ electæ, +o iij. Commixe and
distill them in a Retort s.a. at the first with a gentle fire,
gradually encreasing the heate vnto the finishing of the
distillation, then seperate the Balme and reserue the same in a
glasse vessell close stopt. Bonham, Chyrvrgians.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Fixing
Base
Fix (v)
Definition OED Fixing n. 1. a. The action of the verb fix in various senses.
Also with advbs., as fixing out, fixing up; and gerundially with
omission of in.
Earliest attestation 1605 (OED)
Example
But since this knowledge, tho never so hard, is extremely
necessary for the fixing of a certain Method of practice, I'le set
out for once, and if I do miscarry, 'twill be in good company,
among the masterly Heroes in Medicin. Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 1
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Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
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Nominalization
Base
Fleering
Fleer (v)
The action of fleer.
1533 (OED)
(...) and moreouer stood in the gap of my defence against other
such, which then were also sore troubled with the Fluxe of a
fowle mouth, & bled me at their pleasure for their common Table
talke, with scoffing, fleering, and deriding aboue manners and
modesty. Clowes, Artificiall.
1 (verbal gerund)
Flexion
< Latin flexiōn-em, n. of action < flectĕre (participial stem flex–)
(to bend)
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APPENDIX
Definition OED Flexion n. 1. a. The action of bending, curvature; bent
condition; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1656 (OED)
Example
(...) the small parts of the Wood have no places or pores into
which they may slide upon bending and consequently little or no
flexion or yielding at all can be caus’d in such a substance.
Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Flowing
Base
Flow (v)
Definition OED Flowing n. 1. The action of flow in various senses.
Earliest attestation c950 (OED)
Example
I shall not, nor dare not make a long paraphrase about the sorts
of it, one of which is the water-flag, or flower de luce, which is
hot and dry in the second degree, binds, strengthens, stops fluxes
of the belly, and the immoderate flowing of the terms in women.
Culpeper, London.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Flushing
Base
Flush (v)
Definition OED Flushing n1. 1. The action of the verb flush in various
senses.
Earliest attestation 1552 (EMEMT)
Example
For the flusshing or wynde comming in the vtter and extreame
partes, is nothing els but the spirites of those same gathered
together, at the first entring of the euell aire, agaynste the
infection therof, & flyeng thesame from place to place, for their
owne sauegarde. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Lowe, Art.
Tokens 3
Fluxion
< French fluxion, < Latin fluxiōn-em, < flux– participial stem of
fluĕre (to flow)
OED Fluxion n. 1. a. The action of flowing; a flowing or issuing
forth (of water, vapour, etc.). Also, continuous or progressive
motion; continual change. Now rare.
a1555 (OED)
The late Practicioners are of [/35./] opinion to pull out all those
strange things at the first, because then the patient feeleth not
the sore so much as afterward: besides, shortly after the part
doth swell through fluxion of humors, which maketh the wound
narrow, accompanyed with great dolour, more than at first.
358

APPENDIX
Nominalization Flying
Base
Fly (v)
Definition OED Flying n. 1. a. The action of fly, in various senses.
Earliest attestation 1548 (OED)
Example
For other wise, neither the auoidyng of this countrie (the seconde
reason) nor fleyng into others, (a commune refuge in other
diseases) wyll preserue vs Englishe men, as in this laste sweate is
by experience well proued in Cales, Antwerpe, and other places
of Brabant, wher only our contrimen waxe sicke, [^f.17v^] &
none others, except one or ii. others of thenglishe diete, which is
also to be noted. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Fomentation
Base
< late Latin fōmentātiōn-em, n. of action < fōmentāre (to foment)
Definition OED Fomentation n. 1. a. Med. The application to the surface of
the body either of flannels, etc. soaked in hot water, whether
simple or medicated, or of any other warm, soft, medicinal
substance. Cf. also Fomenting n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
To prouoke the floures in women make fomentacyon of the
decoccyon of this herbe and of centurum galli an herbe.
Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Fomenting
Foment (v)
The action or process bathing with warmor medicamented
lotions; the action of applying fomentations. Cf. Fomentation n.
1. a., in same sense.
Cf. Foment v. trans. To bathe with warm or medicated lotions; to
apply fomentations to. Also, †to lubricate.
1611 (OED)
(...)his Wounds were large, and the Lips hardened with the cold,
and it was well for him, his Bleeding being thereby stayed;) in
this case you are to supple them by fomenting them with Milk or
warm Water, or else embrocate them with Oil, till you perceive
the Lips made soft enough for your purpose, before you
endeavour Reunion. Wiseman, Wounds.
1 (verbal gerund)
Formation
< Latin formātiōn-em, n. of action < form-āre (to form)
OED Formation n. 1. a. The action or process of forming; a
putting or coming into form; creation, production. Cf. also
Forming n. a., in same sense.
359

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation c1450 (OED)
Example
Bodies, or of other Animals, in so clear a [^p.14^] manner as
ought to be don, I should first begin with the Formation of the
Fœtus, and its original constituent parts, with the manner of its
Nutrition and Increase before all the parts are perfect, and how
after, till the time of Birth; (...). Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 3
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Forming
Form (v)
OED Forming n. a. The action of form; the fact or process of
being formed. Cf. also Formation n. 1. a., in same sense.
1401 (OED)
which (to wit the Womb) contributes little else to it, than the
earth to the Seed, that's shed or sown in her, namely keeps the
Seed close together, that the Spirits may not evaporate (fly out in
vapours,) cherishes it by her own Innate (rooted and fix'd) and
Influent (sent from the heart) heat and spirits, thereby stirring,
strengthening, and assisting the spirits of the Seed in the Womb,
in forming the parts of the Infant intended;(...). Harvey, Morbus.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Foundation
Base
< Latin fundātiōn-em, n. of action < fundāre (to found)
Definition OED Foundation n. 2. fig. The action of establishing, instituting,
or constituting on a permanent basis.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
(...) which degree of Consumption we term proper Consumption,
as obtaining its seat in the foundation of the body, and admitting
for the most part of no cure, or at least a very difficult one.
Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 9
Nominalization Fracture
Base
< French fracture, < Latin fractūra, < fract– participial stem of
frangĕre (to break)
Definition OED Fracture n. 1. The action of breaking or fact of being
broken; breakage; spec. in Surg. (the earliest use), the breaking of
a bone, cartilage, etc.
Earliest attestation ?1541 (OED)
Example
This we must confess, if we consider to how many external
injuries the body of man is subject, as to scaldings, fractures,
luxations, wounds, ulcers, ruptures, stone, and to what not: So
that the use of Chirurgery is by reason of absolute necessity more
often required than the ministration of medicaments. Read,
Workes.
Tokens 7
360

APPENDIX
Nominalization Framing
Base
Frame (v)
Definition OED Framing n. 2. a. The action, method, or process of
constructing, making, or fashioning something (material or
immaterial). Also: †cutting of timber (obs.).
Earliest attestation 1440 (OED)
Example
(...) and not (as it was wont to be sayd) Mercurie is not made of
euery tree, so nature maketh euerie thing of any thing: not by
Anaxagoras art, for then should breade containe really,
corporallye, and substantially flesh, bloud and bone, but by a
power and vertue whereof the matter hath no part, more then the
gold for the framing of a iewell partaketh of the goldsmithes
cunning. Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Frequenting
Frequent (v)
The action of visiting or associating with somebody; being
frequently in the company of somebody.
Cf. Frequent v. 2. a. To visit or associate with (a person); to be
frequently with (a person) or in (his company). Now somewhat
rare.
a1555 (OED)
This custome was also the only cause why the yong maid
nourished with poison faired with it as with other victuall: for of
purpose she was nourished from her infancie therwith, that she
might by freque~ting the Kinges companie destroy him with
infection, which poyson being but an accidentary thing, by
custome is vanquished of a naturall & essentiall vertue. Bright,
Melancholy.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Fretting
Base
Fret (v)
Definition OED Fretting n. 1. a. A slow gnawing or eating away; erosion,
corrosion; also, the process of decaying or wasting.
Earliest attestation 1382 (OED)
Example
Boyle it with the flowers, and by it selfe in honied water or wine,
and drinke it to swage the hote burning and fretting of the
bowels, or seethe it in water, and take it with a glister for the
same purpose. Langham, Garden.
Tokens 5
Nominalization
Base
Friction
< French friction, < Latin frictiōn-em, n. of action from fricāre
(to rub)
361

APPENDIX
Definition OED Friction n. 1. a. The action of chafing or rubbing (the body
or limbs). (Formerly much used in medical treatment.)
Earliest attestation 1581 (OED)
Example
(...) and is cured by diuerting the fumes with frictions and
ligators of the extremities, vsing Glisters, and rubbing the head
and necke with Oxyrodinum, and diuers other things which may
be prescribed by the learned Phisition. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Fumigation
Base
< Latin fūmigātiōn-em, n. of action < fūmigāre (to fumigate)
Definition OED Fumigation n. 1. a. The action of generating odorous smoke
or fumes, esp. as one of the ceremonies of incantation; the action
of perfuming with aromatic herbs, perfumes, etc. Also concr. the
preparation used to produce this, or the fumes resulting from it.
Earliest attestation c1384 (OED)
Example
[}To make a fine Fumigation to cast on the Coles. cap. xliiij.}].
Partridge, Treasurie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Gathering
Gather (v)
OED Gathering n. 1. a. The action of the verb gather, in various
transitive senses. Also with in, out, up.
c1050 (OED)
The broth is good against the swellings of the stones, and all
hardnesse and gathering of humours being sodden in wine and
laide to. Langham, Garden.
3 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Generating
Generate (v)
OED Generating n. The action of generate; an instance of this.
Cf. also Generation n. 1. a., in same sense.
1579 (OED)
(...) it's requisite the said Potable Gold should be endued with a
capacity of being agglutinated (glewed,) and assimilated
(converted into a likeness), to the Innate heat and Radical
moisture; or at least be virtuated with a power of generating the
said essentials out of the humours within the Vessels. Harvey,
Morbus.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Generation
< Anglo-Norman generacioun, (...) < generāt–, past participial
stem of generāre (to generate) + –iō (–ation)
OED Generation n. The action of generating. 1. a. The action or
362

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens 14
fact of bringing something into existence by natural or artificial
processes; formation, production. †Also: mode of formation,
nature of origin (obs.). Cf. also Generating n., in same sense.
a1382 (OED)
The Weapon thus drawn out, cleanse it from Rags or ought else,
and permit the Wound to bleed, accordingly as you in your
judgement shall think fit, still having respect to the Constitution
and Habit of body, that what is in the small Veins cut asunder
may flow out, as well to hinder Inflammation, as the generation
of much Matter. Wiseman, Wounds.
Nominalization Getting
Base
Get (v)
Definition OED Getting n. 1. a. The action of get in various senses.
Earliest attestation ?c1200 (OED)
Example
He took two hundred Pound of Earth dried in an Oven, and
having put it in-to an Earthen Vessel, and moisten'd it with
[^p.21^] Water, he planted in it the branch of a Willow-tree of
five pound weight; this he watered as need required with Rain, or
with distilled Water: and to keep the neighboring Earth from
getting into the Vessel, he used a Plate of Iron tinn'd over, and
perforated with many Holes. Cobaltch, Novum.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Getting in
Base
Get in (v)
Definition The action of coming into a place.
Cf. Get in (in Get v.): 1. See sense 31 of get (Cf. “To succeed in
coming or going, to bring oneself to, from, into, out of, etc. (a
place or position), through, over, etc. (a space, an intervening
object).
Earliest attestation 1678 (EMEMT)
Example
These Juices are to be run through a bag, or rather through
brown-paper, and they may be boil'd up with Sugar or honey, or
be kept in bottles fill'd up within a small matter of the top; which
vacancy must be fill'd with Oyl of sweet Almonds, to hinder the
air from getting in and putrifying the Juice. Charas, Royal.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Giving
Base
Give (v)
Definition OED Giving n. The action of give.
Earliest attestation 13..
Example
THis Feaver is cured by giving every morning j +Q of Calamint
fasting with Triacle dj, Myrrh dj, if need be to comfort the
stomack, adde thereto some juyce of [^p.16^] Mynts, this given
363

APPENDIX
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
many times together, hath cured many after the body is well
purged. Wood, Alphabetical.
3 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Gnawing
Gnaw (v)
OED Gnawing n. 1. The action of the verb gnaw, in various
senses.
1340 (OED)
[}Powder of Hollond against Colick, and gnawing of the belly.
cap. xxxvii.}]. Partridge, Treasurie.
6 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Going
Base
Go (v)
Definition OED Going n. 1. a. The action of go, in various senses.
Earliest attestation a1300 (OED)
Example
(...) but ev'n by this great quantity the distractile blood-pipes
being very much distended, compress the nerves over all the
body, and hinder the conveyance of the animal spirits into, and
thro these vessels, according to their force of going outwards,
and the resistence of these in the different parts; (...). Cockburn,
Continuation.
Tokens 9
Nominalization Government
Base
< Old French governement (French gouvernement ), < governer
(to govern)
Definition OED Government n. †2. a. In physical sense: Management of the
limbs or body; movements, demeanour; also, habits of life,
regimen.
Earliest attestation ?1566 (OED)
Example
The vnnaturall is an humour rising of melancholie before
mentioned, or else from bloud or choler, whollie chaunged into
an other nature by an vnkindly heate, which turneth these
humours, which before were raunged vnder natures
gouernment, and kept in order, into a qualitie whollie
repugnant, (...). Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Grazing
Graze (v)
OED Grazing n. The action of graze; the touching or rubbing of a
surface in passing so as to turn it up or roughen it; abrasion.
c1440 (OED)
For as for Agricultura and ars pastoralis, husbandry and
grazing, they would have been required of man, if he had
364

APPENDIX
continued in the state of innocency, to have furnished unto him
nourishment, and other things requisite for the enjoying of this
life contendedly, untill he should have been translated from earth
to heaven to enjoy the beatificall vision of his Creator. Read,
Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Griping
Base
Gripe (v)
Definition OED Griping n. The action of gripe in various senses.
Earliest attestation a1300 (OED)
Example
[}A Remedy against the Griping of the Guts, to be taken
inwardly.}]. Woolley, Supplement.
Tokens 5
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Groaning
Groan (v)
OED Groaning n. 1. The action of groan.
c1000 (OED)
Twelfth lacke of slepe and quietnes, causeth the sycke to shewe a
francye countenance, speakyng, groning grieuously in hys
slumber. Jones, Dial.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Growing
Base
Grow (v)
Definition OED Growing n. 1. The action of grow.
Earliest attestation c1380 (OED)
Example
Which Histories, if well consider’d, and the tree, substance, and
manner of growing, if well examin’d, would, I am very apt to
believe, much confirm this my conjecture about the origination of
Cork. Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Grudging
Grudge (v)
OED Grudging n. †2. An access or slight symptom of an
approaching illness, or a trace remaining of a previous one; a
‘touch’ (of an ailment, pain, etc.). Obs.
c1440 (OED)
Rasis out of the Assirian toung, translated a pretye libell into the
Greke intreating of the pestilence, shewynge howe and by what
signes it is perceiued to molest theym that [/66./] firste haue it:
the backe aketh, a shewing in maner of y=e= grudging of an
ague, cold therwithall, the body weried and heuy, (...). Jones,
Dial.
365

APPENDIX
Tokens 1
Nominalization Hammering
Base
Hammer (v)
Definition OED Hammering n. 1. The action of striking, knocking, or
beating out with a hammer; the dealing of hard reiterated blows
as with a hammer. Also fig.
Earliest attestation 1563 (OED)
Example
First, that either hammering, or filing, or otherwise violently
rubbing of Steel, will presently make it so hot as to be able to
burn ones fingers. Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Handling
Base
Handle (v)
Definition OED Handling n. 1. a. The action of touching, feeling, or
grasping with the hand; management with the hand, wielding,
manipulation; laying hands on; treatment in which the hands are
effectively (or roughly) used.
Earliest attestation c1100 (OED)
Example
(...) nowe nature digesteth nothing but to [^p.8^] make vse of
nourishment thereof: else whatsoeuer entreth into the body,
passeth as it commeth, and hath no welcomming: but is refused
as impertinent; nature bestowing no handling therof: (...).
Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Hanging
Base
Hang (v)
Definition OED Hanging n. 1. The action of suspending or fact of being
suspended; suspension.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
(...) and then brought the Electric, as soon as we could, to settle
notwithstanding its hanging freely at the bottom of the string.
Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Hardening
Harden (v)
The action of making something hard.
Cf. Harden v. 1. a. To render or make hard; to indurate.
1630 (OED)
So that, it seems, Iron does contain a very combustible
sulphureous Body, which is, in all likelihood, one of the causes of
this Phaenomenon, and which may be perhaps very much
concerned in the business of its hardening and tempering: (...).
366

APPENDIX
Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Having
Have (v)
OED Having n. 1. The action or condition expressed by have;
possession.
c1480 (c1400) (OED)
but the Greek Physicians were wont to call any one [^GREEK
OMITTED^]; i. e. Phthisicus, who was either grown lean only, or
who was taken with a proper Phthisis, and consumed away; or
who was naturally inclined to a proper Phthisis, namely by
having a long Neck, a narrow Chest or Breast, Shoulders
sticking out like wings, (...). Harvey, Morbus.
10 (8 of them verbal gerunds)
Healing
Heal (v)
OED Healing n. 1. a. The action of heal; restoration to health;
recovery from sickness; curing, cure.
c1000 (OED)
Fiat vnguentum. This vnguent hath a power and vertue of healing
and attracting. Gale, Institution.
10 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Hearing
Base
Hear (v)
Definition OED Hearing n. 1. a. The action of the verb hear; perception by
the ear or auditory sense; the faculty or sense by which sound is
perceived; audition.
Earliest attestation c1230 (OED)
Example
(...) and if to the guts, then falleth out the flux of the belly called a
lask; somtime it setleth in the braine, and groweth into a grosse
and thick substance, either in the sore part, as in the nerves
optick, which are the conducts whereby the power of seeing doth
come unto the eyes, and causeth either dimnesse, or losse of
sight; or in the conducts that convey the power of hearing unto
the eares, and there causeth a dulnesse of hearing or deafnesse;
(...). Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 8
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Helping
Help (v)
OED Helping n. 1. †b. Use, service, function. Obs.
c1400 (OED)
And the nutrimentals be sequestrate, and sent to places ordeyned
for some helpinges. Vicary, Anatomie.
367

APPENDIX
Tokens 2
Nominalization Hewing
Base
Hew (v)
Definition OED Hewing n. The action of hew, in various senses.
Earliest attestation c1440 (OED)
Example And this reason is confirmed by an example that Henry de
Maundeuile putteth, saying that after the same manner that a
blynde man worketh in hewing of a log, so doth a Chyrurgion
that knoweth not y=e= Anatomie. Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Hindering
Base
Hinder (v)
Definition OED Hindering n. The action of hinder. b. Obstruction,
impediment, hindrance. Cf. Hindrance n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1390 (OED)
Example
To which I answer, that having several times tried, by the most
violent Agitation of many fluid Bodies in inclosed Vessels, I could
never perceive the least warmth; nay I have kept Blood as it came
warm out of the Veins in continued violent motion, and instead of
hindering, it has facilitated its cooling. Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Hindrance
Base
Hinder (v)
Definition OED Hindrance n. The action or fact of hindering. Cf. Hindering
n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1436 (OED)
Example
Cause wherof none other there is naturall, then the euell diet of
these thre [^f.17r^] contries whiche destroy more meates and
drynckes withoute al ordre, co~uenie~t time, reaso~, or
necessite, the~ either Scotlande, or all other countries vnder the
sunne, to the greate annoiance of their owne bodies and wittes,
hinderance of theim which have nede, and great dearth and
scarcitie in their co~mon welthes. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Holding
Base
Hold (v)
Definition OED Holding n. 1. a. The action of hold, in various senses.
Earliest attestation c1225 (c1200) (OED)
Example
(...) and so both his feet must be strongly tyed vnto the bed
poasts, his head & both his hands mus also be fast held by men of
strength, and skilfull in holding: (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
368

APPENDIX
Nominalization Hurting
Base
Hurt (v)
Definition OED Hurting n. 1. The action of the verb hurt; injury, damage,
hurt. (Now usually gerundial.)
Earliest attestation ?c1225 (?c1200) (OED)
Example
Agaynst the feuer quartayne or cotydyan/ for purgacyon take .v.
dra~mes of assa soden with wyne in a holowed rote called Malu~
terre/ tha~ streyne it and put therto hony or sugre/ and afore the
houre of the feuer make a supposytory onely of assa fetida
anoynted with oyle/ butter/ or hony for hurtyng. Anonymous,
Newe.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Ignition
Base
< medieval or modern Latin ignītiōn-em, n. of action < ignī-re
Definition OED Ignition n. 1. The action of subjecting to the full action of
fire; esp. Heating to the point of combustion, or of chemical
change with evolution of light and heat; the condition of being so
heated or on fire.
Earliest attestation 1617 (OED)
Example
And here give me leave to take notice of what I have elsewhere
related to another purpose, namely that a Loadstone may as I
have more than once tryed be easily deprived by ignition of its
Power of sensibly attracting Martial bodies, (...). Boyle,
Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Imitation
Base
< Latin imitātiōn-em, n. of action fromimitārī (to imitate)
Definition OED Imitation n. 1. a. The action or practice of imitating or
copying.
Earliest attestation ?1504 (OED)
Example
So let none think that ever he shall be famous in his Art, if he give
himself only to imitation of others. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Impairing
Impair (v)
OED Impairing n. The action of the verb impair; making worse,
deterioration, impairment.
c1380 (OED)
Yet to direct my Brethren in the Navy in their thoughts and
practice, as well and shortly as this confinement will allow me,
that they may make evacuations fit to discharge the excessive
quantities of detained steams, without impairing or destroying
the strength of the Patient, I shall propose these two ways, which
[/10./] if rightly enquir'd into and thought upon, cannot miss of
369

APPENDIX
Tokens
success. Cockburn, Continuation.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Incarnation
Base
< French incarnation, (...) < incarnāre (to incarn)
Definition OED Incarnation n. 1. The action of incarnating or fact of being
incarnated or ‘made flesh’; a becoming incarnate; investiture or
embodiment in flesh; assumption of, or existence in, a bodily
(esp. human) form. b. In general sense.
Earliest attestation 1548 (PPCEME)
Example
Also he sayth, that in wounds persing the womb there shal not be
made good incarnation, except Sifac be sewed with Myrac.
Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Incantation
Base < French incantation (...), < Latin incantātiōn-em, n. of action <
incantāre (to incant)
Definition OED Incantation n. a. The use of a formula of words spoken or
chanted to produce a magical effect; the utterance of a spell or
charm; more widely, The use of magical ceremonies or arts;
magic, sorcery, enchantment.
Earliest attestation 1390 (OED)
Example
Part IX. Of Diseases by Witchcraft, Incantation, and Charmes.
Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Incising
Incise (v)
The action of cutting. Cf. also Incision n. 1., in same sense.
Cf. Incise v. 1. b. absol. To make a cut or incision.
Earliest attestation 1567 (OED)
Example
[}Question.}] What diuers operations exerciseth the Chyrurgion.
[}Aunswere.}] In three diuers operations. That is to say, dissolue
the thing continued, knit y=e= thing seperated, and put out the
superfluous thing. To dissolue y=e= thing co~tinued, is by
incising, cutting, or scaturusing. Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Incision
< French incision (...), < Latin incīsiōn-em, n. of action from
incīdĕre (to cut in)
OED Incision n. 1. The action of cutting into something; esp. into
some part of the body in surgery. Cf. also Incising n., in same
sense.
1474 (OED)
370

APPENDIX
Example
(...) only there is this difference between those Wounds called
incised, and those called contused ones, (tho by the way, I think I
may safely affirm, there is no Wound made by incision but may
as properly be called a contused one, let the Instrument be never
so keen with which it is made, as a Wound made with a Bullet;
(...). Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 30
Nominalization Inclination
Base
< French inclination (...), < Latin inclīnātiōn-em, n. of action
from inclīnāre (to incline)
Definition OED Inclination n. 1. The action, or an act, of inclining or
bending towards something: spec. †b. The sloping or tilting of a
vessel in order to pour out the liquor from it without stirring up
the sediment; decantation. Obs.
Earliest attestation 1651 (OED)
Example
Then separate this Juice by inclination; and set the Bason again
upon the fire, and continue to keep it there and to stir the herbs,
and to separate the Juice [^p.54^] by inclination, till you have
Juice enough. Charas, Royal.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Increasing
Increase (v)
OED Increasing n. 1. The action of the verb increase; increase,
augmentation, enlargement, growth, etc.
c1340 (OED)
Then boyle them together to the wasting of the iuices, Then distill
them in a Copper still, first with an easie fire, after encreasing it,
till the water and oyle be seperated;then reserue the oyle or
Balme. Bonham, Chyrvrgians.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Indigestion
Base
< French indigestion (...) < in– (in–) + dīgestiōn-em (digestion)
Definition OED Indigestion n. 1. a. Want of digestion; incapacity of or
difficulty in digesting food.
Earliest attestation 1450-1530 (OED)
Example
Yf flewmatyke or Melancolyke humours habounde in the stomake/
and by indygestyon/ with .ii. drammes of Mastyke/ yf it be colde
it chauffeth/ and yf it be feble it conforteth. Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Indignation
Base
< Latin indignātiōn-em, n. of action < indignā-rī (to regard as
unworthy, to be indignant at); or immed. < French indignation
Definition OED Indignation n. †1. a. The action of counting or treating (a
371

APPENDIX
person or thing) as unworthy of regard or notice; disdain,
contempt; contemptuous behaviour or treatment.
Earliest attestation c 1374(OED)
Example
For Aristotle sayeth, yf the Nose-thrills be too thinne or to wyde,
by great drawing in of ayre, it betokeneth great straightnes of
hart and indignation of thought. Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Infarction
Base
n. of action < Latin infarcīre (to infarct)
Definition OED Infarction n. Pathol. The action of stuffing up or condition
of being stuffed up, obstruction; concr. the substance with which
a vessel or other part is stuffed up, or a portion of tissue thus
affected (= infarct n.). Now usually restricted to morbid
conditions of the tissues resulting from obstruction of the
circulation, as by an embolus.
Earliest attestation 1666 (EMEMT)
Example
AN Hypochondriack Consumption is an extenuation of the fleshy
parts, occasioned by an infarction (clogging and over filling,)
and obstruction of the Spleen, pancreas, mesaraick, and
Stomachick Vessels, through melancholly, or gross, dreggish,
tartarous humours; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Infection
Base
post-classical Latin infection-, (...) < classical Latin infect–, past
participial stem of inficere (to infect) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Infection n. 4. Originally: disease, esp. infectious or
communicable disease; an instance of this; an outbreak of
disease; an epidemic. In later use also: invasion and growth of
microorganisms or other parasitic organisms within the body (or
an organ, wound, cell, etc.), esp. when causing disease; the
condition produced by this; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation ?a1425 (OED)
Example
Fourthly by the passion of the hart. For the flusshing or wynde
comming in the vtter and extreame partes, is nothing els but the
spirites of those same gathered together, at the first entring of the
euell aire, agaynste the infection therof, & flyeng the same from
place to place, for their owne sauegarde. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 23
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Inferring
Infer (v)
OED Inferring n. The action of infer; the drawing of inferences.
1543 (EMEMT)
The saide seconde ventricle is smal and thynne, and it passethe
frome the fyrste, to the last, and toucheth bothe. And therfore it is
372

APPENDIX
Tokens
an instrument of two vertues namely of thynkyng and diuidyng,
and of inferrynge one thynge of another. De Vigo, Excellent.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Inflaming
Base
Inflame (v)
Definition OED Inflaming n. The action of the verb inflame. Cf. also
Inflammation n. 3., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1450-1530 (OED)
Example
No wine in all the tyme of sweatyng, excepte to suche whose
sickenes require it for medicin, for fere of inflamynge &
openynge, nor except y=e= halfe be wel soden water. Caius,
Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Inflammation
Base
< Latin inflammātiōn-em, n. of action < inflammāre (to set on
fire)
Definition OED Inflammation n. 3. Pathol. A morbid process affecting some
organ or part of the body, characterized by excessive heat,
swelling, pain, and redness; also, a particular instance or
occurrence of this. Cf. also Inflaming n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1563 (OED)
Example
If there be feare of feuer and inflammation, which is most to be
feared before the seauenth day, for the which abstaine from wine
and all strong drinke, except through losse of much bloud the
heart be faint, suppe lightly, and abstaine from women, and all
violent passions of the mind. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 53
Nominalization Information
Base
< Anglo-Norman enformacioun, (...) < informāt–, past participial
stem of informāre (to inform) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Information n. 1. a. The shaping of the mind or character;
communication of instructive knowledge; education, training;
†advice (obs.). Now rare.
Earliest attestation a1387 (OED)
Example
There are many other particulars, which, being more obvious,
and affording no great matter of information, I shall pass by,
and refer the Reader to the Figure. Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Infusion
< French infusion (...), or immediately < Latin infūsiōn-em, n. of
action < infundĕre (to pour)
OED Infusion n. 4. a. The process of pouring water over a
substance, or steeping the substance in water, in order to
373

APPENDIX
impregnate the liquid with its properties or virtues. †Formerly,
also, the dissolving of a salt or other soluble substance.
Earliest attestation 1532 (OED)
Example
So that it is absolutely necessary for an Apothecary to know the
various Substances of Medicaments, to judge by that how he
ought to regulate their Infusion or Decoction; because that
Prescriptions never mention the regulation of the Decoction, nor
the degrees of fire, nor the length of time requisite for the
Decoction, which is all left to the prudence of the Apothecary.
Charas, Royal.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Ingurgitation
Base
< late Latin ingurgitātiōn-em, n. of action < ingurgitāre (to
ingurgitate)
Definition OED Ingurgitation n. 1. Greedy or immoderate swallowing;
excessive eating or drinking; guzzling or swilling.
Earliest attestation 1531 (OED)
Example
Also the use of many sorts of meats, and too great ingurgitation
thereof, for that doth heape up great store of humors, which one
way or other must have a vent. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Inhabiting
Inhabit (v)
The action of the verb inhabit; habitation, dwelling; †a dwellingplace.
a1400-50 (OED)
Take awaye the causes we maye, in damnyng diches, auoidynge
cario~s, lettyng in open aire, shunning suche euil mistes as
before I spake of, not openynge or sturrynge euill brethynge
places, landynge muddy and rotte~ groundes, burieng dede
bodyes, (...) enhabitynge high & open places, close towarde the
sowthe, (...). Caius, Sweatyng.
1 (verbal gerund)
Inheritance
< Anglo-Norman enheritance a being admitted as heir, action or
fact of inheriting, < enheriter (to inherit)
OED Inheritance n. 2. b. Natural derivation of qualities or
characters from parents or ancestry.
12.. (OED)
The disease descending frequently from Consumptive Parents to
their Children, speaks it Hereditary (gotten as it were by
inheritance from ones Parents,) insomuch that whole Families,
sourcing (descended from tabefyed (consumed and dryed away)
progenitours (ancestors,) have all made their Exits (dyed)
374

APPENDIX
through Consumptions; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 3
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Injuring
Injure (v)
The act of inflicting damage or detriment upon someone or
something.
Cf. Injure v. 3. a. To do hurt or harm to; to inflict damage or
detriment upon; to hurt, harm, damage; to impair in any way.
1651 (OED)
Therefore I chose to make my Trial, with a rough Diamond
extraordinarily attractive, which I could, without injuring it,
hold as near as I pleas’d to the flame of a Candle or Taper; (...).
Boyle, Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Inquiring
Base
Inquire (v)
Definition OED Inquiring n. The action of the verb inquire; inquiry. Cf. also
Inquisition n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1386 (OED)
Example
This repeated Observation put me upon inquiring among some
other young Ladies, whether they had observed any such like
thing, but I found little satisfaction to my Question, (...). Boyle,
Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Inquisition
Base
< Old French inquisition, (...) < Latin inquīsītiōn-em searching
into, examination, legal examination, n. of action from inquīrĕre
(to inquire)
Definition OED Inquisition n. 1. a. The action or process of inquiring or
searching into matters, esp. for the purpose of finding out the
truth or the facts concerning something; search, inquiry,
investigation, examination, research; †scrutiny, inspection (obs.).
Cf. also Inquiring n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1382 (OED)
Example
These and such like may bee the causes of the Gout externall, and
they are to be found out by the inquisition of the Physitian, and
relation of the patient. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Insinuating
Insinuate (v)
Cf. Insinuate v. 1. a. trans. To introduce tortuously, sinuously,
indirectly, or by devious methods; to introduce by imperceptible
375

APPENDIX
degrees or subtle means.
Earliest attestation 1644 (OED)
Example
This salin sap of the Vessels for being refused reception of the
parts, indues daily a greater [^p.33^] ferocity (fierceness,) and
declares it self in a more hostile (like an Enemy) manner, by
insinuating (peircing) into the profundity (depth) of the parts,
and so drying, absorbing (sucking up,) and consuming the
Radical moisture and Innate heat, arrives to a Proper
Consumption. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Insition
Base < Latin insitiōn-em, n. of action < inserĕre (to plant in, engraft) <
in– (in–) + serĕre (to sow, plant)
Definition OED Insition n. Obs. a. The action of engrafting, engraftment;
concr. a graft.
Earliest attestation 1563 (EMEMT)
Example
Guido de Cauliaco (in his boke which he calleth his Collectorie)
defineth it in this sorte. Chirurgirie is a parte of terapentike
helinge men by insition, vstion, & articulation. Gale, Antidotaire.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Inspiration
Base
< Old French en–, inspiration, –cion (...) < Latin inspīrātiōn-em,
n. of action from inspīrāre (to inspire)
Definition OED Inspiration n. 2. a. The action, or an act, of breathing in or
inhaling; the drawing in of the breath into the lungs in respiration.
(Opp. to expiration). Cf. also Inspiring n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1513 (OED)
Example
THere is also of the kinde of putrifying feuers, a feuer
pestilential, of the Grekes called [^GREEK OMITTED^], [/49./]
of y=e= Latines pestilens febris of vs properlye the pestilence, so
[/50./] called, bicause it spryngeth and groweth by inspiration
and venemous [/51./] ayre, for as Galen testifieth, the ayre being
corrupt, maketh the humor of the bodye to corrupt and putrify
also. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 3
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Inspiring
Inspire (v)
OED Inspiring n. The action of the verb inspire; breathing in,
inhalation; infusion of divine influence, etc. Cf. also Inspiration
n. 2. a., in same sense.
a1340 (OED)
Moreover nothig we find taints sound Lungs sooner, than
inspiring (drawing in) the breath of putrid (stinking and
beginning to rot) ulcer'd, or Consumptive Lungs; (...). Harvey,
376

APPENDIX
Tokens
Morbus.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Institution
Base
Middle English < Old French institucion (...), < Latin institūtiōnem,
n. of action < instituĕre (to institute)
Definition OED Institution n. 1. a. The action of instituting or establishing;
setting on foot or in operation; foundation; ordainment; the fact
of being instituted.
Earliest attestation c1460 (OED)
Example
The seyng our talke shal wholly be the institution of a
Chirurgian, it ware mete, and conuenient first to vnderstande
what Chirurgery is. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Instruction
Base
< Old French in–, enstruction, –cion (...) < Latin instructiōn-em,
n. of action < instruĕre (to instruct)
Definition OED Instruction n. 1. The action of instructing or teaching; the
imparting of knowledge or skill; education; †information.
Earliest attestation 1511 (OED)
Example
Neither is a Chirurgeon contented to have performed so many
duties to the body of man while it is alive, and the instrument of
the soule for performing actions; but when it is dead, the spirit
returning to God, who gave it, he ceaseth not to be officious to it,
in dissecting of it, for the instruction of himselfe and others, and
preserving it from putrefaction and annoyance, untill time and
place fit for burying of it be offered: (...). Read, Workes.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Intercommunication
Base
< Anglo-Latin intercommūnicātio
Definition OED Intercommunication n. 1. The action or fact of
communicating with each other; intercourse.
Earliest attestation 1586 (OED)
Example
This then is the cause why life and death dwell so nigh together,
and yet (as they are of the vehementest sort of aduersaries)
without entercommunication: (...). Bright, Melacholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Intermission
< Latin intermissiōn-em, n. of action < intermittĕre (to intermit)
OED Intermission n. 1. a. The fact of intermitting, giving over, or
ceasing for a time; a temporary pause, cessation, or breach of
continuity in an action, state, etc. (freq. in phr. without
intermission). spec. in Pathol., of a fever or the pulse.
1526 (OED)
377

APPENDIX
Example
(...) but herein their state is differenced from a proper
Consumption, that upon their entrance into a course of Physick,
they are apt in a very short time to lose their flesh, so as to
counterfeit Anatomies, and afterwards upon the least
intermission of their Medicines to impinguate (grow fat) to
admiration; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Interposition
Base
< French interposition, (...), < Latin interpositiōn-em, n. of action
from interpōnĕre (to interpone)
Definition OED Interposition n. 1. a. The action of placing something or
oneself between; the fact of being placed or situated between;
intervention.
Earliest attestation 1412-20 (OED)
Example
(...) Electrical Steams are like those of some odoriferous Bodies,
easily check’d in their progress, since ‘tis affirm’d by Learned
Writers, who say they speak upon particular Trial, that the
interposition of the finest Linnen or Sarsnet is sufficient to
hinder all the Operation of excited Amber upon a Straw or
Feather plac’d never so little beyond it. Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Interruption
Base
< Latin interruptiōn-em, n. of action from interrupĕre (to
interrupt)
Definition OED Interruption n. The action of interrupting, or fact of being
interrupted (in the various senses of the verb); with an and pl., an
instance of this. 1. a. A breaking in upon some action, process, or
condition (esp. speech or discourse), so as to cause it (usually
temporarily) to cease; hindrance of the course or continuance of
something; a breach of continuity in time; a stoppage.
Earliest attestation 1489 (OED)
Example
(...) 'tis evident that the blood may be mightily chang'd by an
interruption of perspiration, and now in case of a fall, in less
than 24 hours, and that bleeding may actually dispose the blood
for becoming better, by promoting the secretions, [^p.15^]and
recovering its colour and strength in almost as short a time as
they were lost. Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Intersection
< Latin intersectiōn-em (Vitruvius), n. of action from intersecāre
(to intersect)
OED Intersection n. 1. The action or fact of intersecting or
crossing; esp. in Geom.
1559 (OED)
378

APPENDIX
Example
The Dragon then signifieth none other thing but the intersection
of 2. circles, that is to say, of the Ecliptique & of the Circle that
carieth the Moone, called her Defferent, cutting one another in 2.
pointes, (...). Blundevile, Cosmographie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Intervention
Base
< late Latin interventiōn-em, n. of action < intervenīre (to
intervene)
Definition OED Intervention n. 1. a. The action of intervening, ‘stepping in’,
or interfering in any affair, so as to affect its course or issue. Now
freq. applied to the interference of a state or government in the
domestic affairs or foreign relations of another country.
Earliest attestation c1425 (OED)
Example
But, leaving this as a bare conjecture, we may take notice, that
what virtue an oblong piece of Iron may need a long tract of time
to acquire, by the help onely of its position, may be imparted to it
in a very short time, by the intervention of such a nimble agent,
as the fire. Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Inundation
Base
< Latin inundātiōn-em, n. of action < inundāre (to inundate)
Definition OED Inundation n. 1. The action of inundating; the fact of being
inundated with water; an overflow of water; a flood.
Earliest attestation 1432-50 (OED)
Example
AIr as it is a pure Element, neither corrupts, nor is infectious; but
it may be corrupted [/21./] by other things. Paris is seldom free
from the Plague, by reason of inundations, for besides the stink
of the mud, all the Jakes of the City are full of stinking water, that
go not into the Common-shore, but to the Gates of the City, and
cause a stink, especially in hot weather. Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Inventing
Invent (v)
The action of discovering. Cf. also Invention n. 1. a., in same
sense.
Cf. Invent v. †1. trans. To come upon, find; to find out, discover.
Earliest attestation 1563
Example
Fyrst is the redye and good conceyuynge: then a firme and sure
memorye, nexte a sounde and ryght iudgement, after a easye
callynge thinges to mynde whyche he haue harde orsene, and
laste a lyuelye and sharpe redynes in findynge and inuentynge
remedyes. Gale, Antidotaire.
Tokens
1 (verbal gerund)
379

APPENDIX
Nominalization Invention
Base
< Old French invencion, envention (...) < Latin inventiōn-em n. of
action < invenīre (to invent)
Definition OED Invention n. 1. a. The action of coming upon or finding; the
action of finding out; discovery (whether accidental, or the result
of search and effort). Obs. or arch. Cf. also Inventing n., in same
sense.
Earliest attestation a1350 (OED)
Example
Vnto whiche I haue also added no smal number of vnguents
oyles, Balmes, Emplasters, Cerotes, wounde drynke, &c, of myne
owne inuention. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Issuing
Base
Issue (v)
Definition OED Issuing n. 1. The action of the verb issue in various senses.
Earliest attestation 1481 (OED)
Example
[}Pet.}] What is a Hemeragie? [}Io.}] It is an issuing of the
bloud in great aboundance, the vaine or artier being cut, riuen,
or corroded: there is another flux of bloud, which sometime
commeth at the nose, and [/58./] chaunceth often in dayes
criticke, which should not be stayed, vnlesse it be excessiue.
Lowe, Art.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Joining
Base
Join (v)
Definition OED Joining n. 1. The action of join, or the fact of being joined.
a. Connection, combination, union.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
[}Pet.}] What is Suture? [}Ioh.}] It is a ioyning of the parts
separated against the course of nature, which in great wounds is
doone by needle and threed, to the end the siccatrize be more
sure: like as in great wounds of the thighes, legges, and armes,
where there is great distance betwixt the bordes or brimmes of
the [/39./] wound. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Judging
Judge
OED Judging n. The action of judge; judgement. Cf. Judgement
n. 6., in same sense)
1303 (OED)
And though, by this success of my inquiry, I perceived I could
not, as else I might have done, shew the Curious a new way of
judging of true and false Emeralds, (...). Boyle, Magnetism.
380

APPENDIX
Tokens 1
Nominalization Judgement
Base
< French jugement (...) < juger (to judge)
Definition OED Judgement n. 6. The pronouncing of a deliberate opinion
upon a person or thing, or the opinion pronounced; criticism;
censure. Cf. Judging n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1250 (?a1200) (OED)
Example
The Prognosticks are there also delivered, that the young
Chirurgeon may be informed how to make judgement of them,
and avoid the ingaging himself in promising a Cure of such
Wounds as are mortal. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 8
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Keeping
Keep (v)
OED Keeping n. 2. a. The action, task, or office of looking after,
guarding, defending, taking care of, etc.; custody, charge,
guardianship.
c1380 (OED)
And the reason is thys, bycause the eyes haue y=e= garde &
kepynge of the body, so that men maye se theyr enemyes afarre
of, & auoyde that, that is noysome to the bodye. De Vigo,
Excellent.
9 (4 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Killing
Base
Kill (v)
Definition OED Killing n. 1. The action of kill, in various senses.
Earliest attestation c1540 (c1400) (OED)
Example
Now it is most probable, I may say demonstrative, that what
strange event did first minister occasion to invent an Art, that
that Art was first enquired for & found out; Such was the
wounding and killing of Abel, by his brother Cain, by reason of
emulation. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Kindling
Base
Kindle (v)
Definition OED Kindling n. 1. The action of kindle in various senses.
Earliest attestation c1400 (c1325) (OED)
Example
Since we have nothing more difficult in this Hypothesis to
conceive, first, as to the kindling of Tinder, then how a large
Iron-bullet, let fall red or glowing hot upon a heap of Small-coal,
should set fire to those that are next to it first: (...). Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
381

APPENDIX
Nominalization Knitting
Base
Knit (v)
Definition OED Knitting n. 1. a. The action of the verb knit. Fastening in or
with a knot, tying, binding, conjunction, compacting, etc. lit. and
fig.
Earliest attestation a1420 (OED)
Example
Chyrurgery is science, that teacheth the manner and qualitie to
work, principally in knitting, in cutting, and exercising other
workes of the hande. Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Knowing
Know (v)
OED Knowing n. 2. The acquisition of, or fact of having
acquired, knowledge or understanding; comprehension;
†expertise, skill, command (obs.).
?c1225 (?c1200) (OED)
Whych dyseases the chirurgien maye ease in knowynge, in
curynge, and pronosticating. De Vigo, Excellent.
4 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Labouring
Base
Labour (v)
Definition OED Labouring n. 1. The action of labour (in various senses);
esp. the action of doing hard (often unskilled) physical work.
Also: an instance of this.
Earliest attestation c1400 (c1387) (OED)
Example
So much I thought good to deliver of the antiquity, dignity, and
of the [^p.6^] chief professors of Chirurgery; which ought to stir
up your diligence in labouring to excell in the particular
operations of it, and to resolve to contemne the obloquies and
calumnies of rude and ill bred persons, (...). Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Laceration
Base
< Latin laceratiōn-em, n. of action < lacerāre (to lacerate)
Definition OED Laceration n. The action or process of lacerating; an
instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1598 (OED)
Example
If the Weapon have pierced deep, and through great Vessels and
Nervous [/8./] places; or if the Part opposite to it be full of Veins,
Arteries and Nerves, or have a Bone lying in the way, or over
against the Wound; if there be no great fear of Laceration, pull
it out the same way it went in. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Lancing
382

APPENDIX
Base
< Old French lancier (French lancer ) < Latin lanceāre , < lancea
(lance)
Definition OED Lancing n. 1. The action of lance in various senses: e.g. †b.
Piercing, pricking.
Earliest attestation 1470-85 (OED)
Example
In the vse of these outward Incisions, this scope ought chiefly to
be regarded, that is: to be very circumspect in your handy
operations, attempted & done concerning the cure of this great
Malady: That is, the apertion or opening by launcing or Incision
of those glandulous Tumours. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Landing
Land (v)
OED Landing n. 1. a. The action of coming to land or putting
ashore; disembarkation.
c1440 (OED)
Take awaye the causes we maye, in damnyng diches, auoidynge
cario~s, lettyng in open aire, shunning suche euil mistes as
before I spake of, not openynge or sturrynge euill brethynge
places, landynge muddy and rotte~ groundes, (...). Caius,
Sweatyng.
1 (verbal gerund)
Lasting
Last (v)
OED Lasting n1. a. The action of last; continuance, duration,
permanence.
a1400 (a1325) (OED)
(...) for they being disseised (turn'd out) of their most happy seat
Paradise, and so far discarded (cast out) out of Gods favour,
could not but fall into a most dismal, sad, and melancholique
drooping, for the loss of their happiness, the occasional cause
and forerunner of a Marcour, or drying and withering of their
flesh and radical moisture (the deep oyly moisture of the parts,)
or otherwise they might have Spun the thred of their lives much
longer, their principles of life being created in them to extend to
an Eval duration (lasting without end.) Harvey, Morbus.
1 (verbal gerund)
Laughing
Laugh (v)
OED Laughing n. The action of laugh; laughter. Also: an
instance of this.
c1325 (c1300) (OED)
Some say that yf it be take~ at y~ mouth it sleeth a man in
laughyng/ and it is founde in certayne bokes that yf it be taken
383

APPENDIX
inwarde it sleeth a man. Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Laying
Base
Lay (v)
Definition OED Laying n. 1. a. The action of lay in various senses; putting,
setting, placing, fixing, esp. in a designed position; †assessment,
taxation; †accouchement; etc.
Earliest attestation c1330 (OED)
Example
In deed I haue oftentimes read, and I haue also been credibly
enformed by Master Francis Rasis, and Master Peter Lowe, two
of the French Kinges Chururgians, that the French King doth
also Cure may Strumous people, onely by laying on of his hand,
and saying: God make thee whole, (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Learning
Learn (v)
OED Learning n. 1. The action of learn. a. The action of
receiving instruction or acquiring knowledge; spec. in Psychol., a
process which leads to the modification of behaviour or the
acquisition of new abilities or responses, and which is additional
to natural development by growth or maturation; (freq. opp.
insight).
c897 (OED)
(...) nowe I wyll further desyre you to showe me the waye to
procede in lernynge and obteyning thys noble and famous arte.
Gale, Institution.
9 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Leaving off
Base
Leave off (v)
Definition OED Leaving n. 1. The action of leave in various senses. Also in
Comb. with advs., as leaving-off.
Earliest attestation c1380 (OED)
Example
Secondarely the interpolate doe cease at the state of the feuers,
as I haue alwayes marked, Fuctius [/43./] therto agreinge,
bicause by a certayne force they are purged by themselues,
therefore termed of the Grekes [^GREEK OMITTED^] that is
leauing of. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Lessening
Lessen (v)
OED Lessening n. a. The action of lessen, in various senses.
Diminution; †a degradation, disparagement.
1428 (OED)
384

APPENDIX
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
And therefore, he thinks it necessary, both for lessening the
quantity, and perhaps quickening the motion, to cause this person
to be let blood, and that in a considerable quantity, with very
great success. Cockburn, Continuation.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Letting
Let (v)
OED Letting n. 1. The action of allowing movement or passage;
the action of permitting or allowing to happen; an instance of
this.
?c1225 (?c1200) (OED)
So that for the practicke parte, I do not se what is more to be
desired: excepte it ware some treatise, in whiche might be
comprehended the arte of phlebotomie or lettynge of blode, and
also of scarification, and boxinge whiche I hope (God grauntynge
hym lyfe) he wyll hereafter fit out. Gale, Institution.
7 (6 of them verbal gerunds)
Lifting up
Lift up (v)
OED Lifting n. a. The action of lift in various senses. Also lifting
up. †Also concr. in hand-lifting: so much as can be taken up by
the hand.
1362 (OED)
They whiche haue the Feuer of watches, vitious humors
accompanieth theym, swellynge of the [/17./] face, greif in
mouing of the eyes, scarcely lifting vp the lids, much moysture of
them, and smal pulses. Jones, Dial.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Ligature
Base
< Latin ligātūra, < ligāre (to bind)
Definition OED Ligature n. 3. The action of tying; an instance of this. Also,
the result of the action or operation; a tie or the place where it is
made. a. Surg.
Earliest attestation ?1541 (OED)
Example
(...) afterwards I bind it on with a very easy Ligature, then I give
my Tincture in Wine, and repeat it according to the Directions at
the latter end of the Book. Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Lingering
Linger (v)
OED Lingering n. a. The action of linger. Also rarely in pl., last
remaining traces (of something).
a1400 (a1325) (OED)
385

APPENDIX
Example
For as fire in hardes or straw, is sone in flambe & sone oute,
euen so heate in the spirites, either by simple distemperature, or
by infection and putrefaction therin conceyued, is sone in flambe
and sone out, and soner for the vehemencye or greatnes of the
same, whiche without lingering, consumeth sone the light matter,
contrary to al other diseases restyng in humoures, (...). Caius,
Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Living
Base
Live (v)
Definition OED Living n. 1. a. The action of live in various senses; the fact
of being alive; the fact of dwelling in a specified place; †the
faculty or function of life; course of life; †continuance in life.
Earliest attestation c1350 (OED)
Example
I Endeavour'd last year, to give a genuin and true account of the
rise and nature of the Sicknesses at Sea, from considerations
about the way of their living; (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Loathing
Base
Loathe (v)
Definition OED Loathing n. The action of loathe; intense dislike,
abhorrence; strong distaste (for food).
Earliest attestation c1340 (OED)
Example (...) by what signes it is perceiued to molest theym that [/66./]
firste haue it: the backe aketh, a shewing in maner of y=e=
grudging of an ague, cold therwithall, the body weried and heuy,
geuen to [^f.G1v^] slumber, drousines of the heade, coughing
slowly wa~bling of y=e= stomack, desier to drinke, lothing of
meat. &c. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Losing
Base
Lose (v)
Definition The action or process of being deprived or parting with (a portion
of sth.).
Cf. Lose v 1 3. f. Of a thing: To be deprived of or part with (a
portion of itself, a quality, or appurtenance). Also with off.
Earliest attestation 1697 (EMEMT)
Example So that the surest instrument for performing our design is
Phlebotomy or Bleeding, tho' even this may create a stronger
pulse, a greater heat, and the like, than was before, after losing
ten or twelve ounces of blood in a certain circumstance, which I
shall have occasion to speak of here. Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens
5 (all of them verbal gerunds)
386

APPENDIX
Nominalization Lucubration
Base
< Latin lūcubrātiōn-em, n. of action < lūcubrāre (to lucubrate)
Definition OED Lucubration n. 1. The action or occupation of lucubrating;
nocturnal study or meditation; study in general; an instance of
this.
Earliest attestation 1596 (OED)
Example
This so mortal an Enemy to humane life doth the more earnestly
implore succour from Charitable Physicians, the ambition to
which Character hath wrested these Medical (Physical) pages
(leaves) from our lucubriations (night Studies). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Luxation
Base
< Latin luxātiōn-em, n. of action < luxāre (to luxate)
Definition OED Luxation n. Surg. a. The action of dislocating or putting out
of joint; the condition of being dislocated; dislocation; an
instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1552 (OED)
Example
For I thynke no man is so rude but doth consider, that wythoute
the perfect knowledge of these, how easely he shall fall into
intollorable errours, especiallye in phlebotomye, in fractures,
and luxations, [^f.7r^] and where as occasion is offered to
[^ORIG. BLURRED^]ke incision. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 5
Nominalization Maintenance
Base
< Anglo-Norman maintenance, (...) < maintenir (to maintain)
Definition OED Maintenance n. 3. c. Biol. The process or action of
maintaining physiological stability, esp. stable body mass. Also
attrib.: designating the energy or nutrients required to keep an
organism in such a state (as distinct from energy used for growth
or reproduction).
Earliest attestation 1633 (EMEMT)
Example
The second internall cause of the Gout is [/57./] the humor
phlegmatick, which is next unto blood, for that it is indeed a
crude or inconcocted blood, and in time of hunger and hard fare
it is by better concoction converted into a profitable blood for the
maintenance of the body. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Making
Make (v)
OED Making n. 1. a. The action of make in various senses;
production, creation, construction, preparation; institution,
appointment; doing, performance (of a specified action);
conversion into or causing to become something; etc. Also
387

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
(occas.): the process of being made.
OE (OED)
Bitter Almonds taken in with sweete wine, as Bastard, or
Muscadele, prouoke vrine, & cure the hardnesse of the same, and
painefulnesse in making thereof, and are good for the grauell,
and stone. Langham, Garden.
36 (20 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Management
Base
Manage (v)
Definition OED Management n. 1. a. Organization, supervision, or
direction; the application of skill or care in the manipulation, use,
treatment, or control (of a thing or person), or in the conduct of
something.
Earliest attestation 1598 (OED)
Example
The means whereby this Intention is performed is a Regiment of
the Patient: and that is either Universal, as to his Diet; or
Particular, as to the peculiar management of the Part it self.
Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Manifesting
Manifest (v)
OED Manifesting n. Now rare. The action or process of manifest.
1536 (OED)
Thirdly, Having burnt Antimony to ashes, and of those ashes,
without any addition, made a transparent Glass, I found, that,
when rubb’d, as Electrical Bodies ought to be to excite them, it
answer’d my expectation, by manifesting a not inconsiderable
Electricity. Boyle, Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Meaning
Base
Mean (v)
Definition OED Meaning n. 2 2. a. Of language, a sentence, word, text, etc.:
signification, sense. By extension: the thing, person, etc., for
which a word or expression stands; the denotation or referent of a
word or expression. Also: the signification intended to be
understood by a statement, law, etc., as opposed to the literal
sense of the words;
Earliest attestation a1387 (OED)
Example
Fœlix a tergo quem nulla Ciconia pinxit. Whiche maye ryghte
well be englyshed, althoughe not verbatim yet in meanynge on
this or lyke sorte. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Measuring
388

APPENDIX
Base
Measure (v)
Definition OED Measuring n. 1. The action or process of taking
measurements. Also in extended use.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example HOW TO DEUIDE THE ARCHE OF A CIRCLE INTO TWO =L
PARTES, WITHOUT MEASURING THE ARCHE. Record,
Geometrie.
Tokens
3 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Meddling
Base
Meddle (v)
Definition OED Meddling n. †1. a. The result of mixing, blending or
combining; a mixture, blend, or combination.
Earliest attestation c1384 (OED)
Example
Agaynst scabbes/ take oyle of nuttes/ & heet it a lytell without
medlynge of vyneygre/ than take lytargy that is sco~me of syluer/
and put to it powdre of seruse and sethe them tyll they be thycke
as hony and wha~ it is colde put quicke syluer to it and so occupy
it. Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Mediation
Base
< Anglo-Norman and Middle French mediacion, (...) < mediat–,
past participial stem of mediare (to mediate) + –io (–ation)
Definition OED Mediation n. 2. a. Agency or action as an intermediary; the
state or fact of serving as an intermediate agent, a means of
action, or a medium of transmission; instrumentality.
Earliest attestation c1425 (OED)
Example
And a late learned Author, the worthy Dr. Cole, in his Treatise of
Intermitting Fevers, the only rational Piece in my opinion that
ever was writ on that Subject, plainly makes it appear, that the
seat of Agues is in the Cortex of the Brain, from whence, at
certain periods of time, the matter is thrown off, by the
mediation of the Nerves, to all the parts of the Body, which
causes that Coldness, Rigor, and Horror perceiv'd at the
beginning of a Fit; (...). Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Meeting
Meet (v)
OED Meeting n. 5. a. The joining, coming together, intersection,
confluence, etc., of two or more things.
a1387 (OED)
(...) then shall you not call it one croked lyne, but rather twoo
lynes; in as muche as there is a notable and sensible angle by A
whiche euermore is made by the meetyng of two seuerall lynes.
Record, Geometrie.
389

APPENDIX
Tokens 7
Nominalization Melting
Base
Melt (v)
Definition OED Melting n. 1. a. The action of melt; an instance of this. Also
in Old English: †digestion (obs.). Also with away, down.
Earliest attestation OE (OED)
Example
AUrum. Golde is the moost attempered of all metalles. Now be it
is hote/ but y~ heet is meane without excesse/ therfore it is put in
no degre. Golde is made of a vayne of y=e= erthe by decoccion
or meltynge/ and by the same decoccyon the superflue is
deuyded and is called Cucuma auri/ the scu~me of golde.
Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Mention
Base
< Anglo-Norman mencion, (...) < classical Latin mentiōn–,
mentiō (to mention)
Definition OED Mention n. 1. a. Originally: the action of calling to mind or
commemorating something in speech or writing. Subsequently in
more restricted sense: the action or an act of referring to,
remarking upon, or introducing the name of a person or thing in
spoken or written discourse, often incidentally and as not
necessarily essential to the discussion. Cf. also Mentioning n., in
same sense.
Earliest attestation c1300 (OED)
Example
Hippocrates makes mention of six sorts of Tabes, or proper
Consumptions: viz. first libr. 2. de Morb. he affirms that the body
oft wasts by reason of a thick Phlegm, being retained within the
Lungs, and there putrefying; according to which sense he writes,
that a Distillation in the Lungs is suppurated (turn'd to matter) in
twenty days. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 11
Nominalization Mentioning
Base
Mention (v)
Definition OED Mentioning n. The action or an act of mentioning
something. Cf. also Mention n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1565 (OED)
Example
(...) and were it not for discovering, by the mentioning of it,
another Secret, which I am not free to impart, I should have here
inserted it. Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Ministering
Minister (v)
OED Ministering n. The action of minister (in various senses);
390

APPENDIX
administration; an instance of this. Cf. also Ministration n. 3. a.,
in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
(...) for they be accompted for no men, because they liue a life
bestiall: wherfore amongst al other sortes of people, they ought
to be sequestred from the ministring of medecine. Vicary,
Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Ministration
Base
< classical Latin ministrātiōn–, (...) < ministrāt–, past participial
stem of ministrāre (to minister) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Ministration n. 3. a. With of. The action of supplying,
providing, or giving something (esp. medicine). Now rare. Cf.
Ministering n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1425 (OED)
Example
So that the use of Chirurgery is by reason of absolute necessity
more often required than the ministration of medicaments. Read,
Workes.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Misapprehension
Base
Mis– + apprehension
Definition OED Misapprehension n. The action or an act of
misapprehending something; the misunderstanding of the
meaning of something; a mistaken belief or assumption.
Earliest attestation 1629 (OED)
Example
THe common chink, through which errors and erroneous
opinions do and have slipt into the Scholastique republique, to
the endangering and enfoncing (drowning) of truth, is the too
frequent misapprehension of the name of a thing, which being
understood in one sense by me, and in another by you, must
necessarily occasion us to discrepate (disagree) in the thing it
self; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Misconception
Mis– + conception
OED Misconception n. The action or an act of misconceiving or
misunderstanding something. Now chiefly: a view or opinion that
is false or inaccurate because based on faulty thinking or
understanding.
1658 (OED)
(...) and this certainly is the great cause of so many controversies
and disputes between the Learned, and such others as are equally
ballanced in right reason: now were not the misconception of
the name various between them, being considered really rational,
391

APPENDIX
they could not but agree in the thing it self, or otherwise they
could not be estimated both rational. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Mistaking
Mistake (v)
OED Mistaking n. The action of mistake; misunderstanding,
misconception; †wrongdoing (obs.); an instance of this.
a1400 (OED)
(...) but the case is altered, for now he did againe, most bitterly
reuile him, for mistaking of his griefe: I must needs say, his
Phisitian was a man of a curteous inclination, (...). Clowes,
Artificiall.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Misunderstanding
Base
Misunderstand (v)
Definition OED Misunderstanding n. 1. Failure to understand; mistaking of
the meaning of something; an instance of this, a misconception or
misinterpretation.
Earliest attestation c1443 (OED)
Example
Thinkynge it also better to write this in Englishe after mine own
meanyng, then to haue it translated out of my Latine by other
after their misunderstandyng. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Mixing
Mix (v)
OED Mixing n. 1. a. The action of mix (in various senses); an
instance of this. Cf. also Mixture n. 4. a., in same sense.
1525 (OED)
Secondly, by mixing two such liquid Bodies as Petroleum and
strong Spirits of Nitre in a certain proportion, and then distilling
them till there remained a drymass, I obtain’d a brittle substance
as black as Jet; (...). Boyle, Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Mixture
Base < Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French mixture (...) <
mixtus (mixed) + –ūra (–ure)
Definition OED Mixture n. 4. a. The action or process of mixing or of
becoming mixed; the fact of being mixed or combined; an
instance of this. Now rare. Cf. also Mixing n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1530 (OED)
Example
The distemperance of blud hapneth by one of thother humors,
through the inordinate or superfluous mixture of them, and not
of him self, for blud is temperate of his proper quality as saith
392

APPENDIX
Hippocrates [/28./] hauing no contrariety exceding either in
heate or cold, or in cold or heate, or in moist or drith, or in
drith or moisture, as confyrmeth Galen in his own language, this
[/29./] left writen [^GREEK OMITTED^]. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 5
Nominalization Moderation
Base < Anglo-Norman and Middle French moderacion, (...) <
moderāt–, past participial stem of moderārī (to moderate) + –iō
(–ation)
Definition OED Moderation n. †2. b. Abatement of severity or rigour; the
action or an act of making something less severe; restriction
within moderate limits. In early use also: reduction of
expenditure, lowering of financial charges. Obs. (Sc. in later use).
Earliest attestation c1500 (OED)
Example
The Fascia Retentrix is used to keep your Dressings on close
about the [/20./] Wound. They for the most part are only of use in
Wounds of the Head. There must be a moderation in binding
with this Bandage. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Modification
Base < Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French modification (...) <
modificāt–, past participial stem of modificāre (to modify) + –iō
(–ation)
Definition OED Modification n. 6. The action or an act of making changes
to something without altering its essential nature or character;
partial alteration; (also) a change made.
Earliest attestation 1675-1676 (PPCEME)
Example
As if the heat of the fire had put the parts into a general, but
confus’d, agitation; to which ‘twas easie for the subsequent
Attrition or Reciprocation of Pressure to give a convenient
modification in a Body whose Texture disposes it to become
vigorously Electrical. Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Moistening
Base
Moisten (v)
Definition OED Moistening n. The action of becoming moist, or of adding
moisture to something; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1559 (OED)
Example
The third, that it should go into the joynts for the suppling and
moistning thereof, for they are compounded of dry substances,
which without that kinde of suppling, would bee unapt to any
ready motion: wherefore this humor may bee defined after this
sort. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 1
393

APPENDIX
Nominalization Mollification
Base
< Middle French mollificacion, (...) < mollificat–, past participial
stem of mollificare (to mollify) + –io (–ation)
Definition OED Mollification n. 1. The action of mollify; appeasement,
pacification; reduction in severity; an instance of this. Cf. also
Mollifying n. 1., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1395 (OED)
Example
[}Pet.}] What is Paralisie? [}Ioh.}] It is a mollification,
relaxation, or resolution of the nerues, with priuation of the
moouing, whereof there is two kinds, vniuersall and particular.
Lowe, Art.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Mollifying
Base
Mollify (v)
Definition OED Mollifying n. 1. The action of mollify; an instance of this.
Cf. also Mollification n. 1., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1425 (OED)
Example
And for mollifying in children is approoued this remedy
following. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Mortification
Base
Mortify (v)
Definition OED Mortification n. 2. Death of part of the body, esp. of an
extremity; localized necrosis of tissue; gangrene; an instance of
this. Also (rare): withering or blight of a plant. Now arch. or hist.
Earliest attestation c1384 (OED)
Example
Thirdly, the amputation of a limme by reason of a mortification,
or some other accident. Here shall be set downe the most
accurate method of dismembring. Read, Workes.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Motion
< Anglo-Norman motion, (...) < mōt–, past participial stem of
movēre (to move) + –iō (–ation)
OED Motion n. 2. Agitation, violent movement; spec. agitation or
disturbance of a physical substance (esp. water); an irregular
movement, shaking, oscillation (of a ship, vehicle, etc.). Also:
excitement, perturbation, agitation (of the mind or feelings). Cf.
also Moving n. 1. a., in same sense.
a1398 (OED)
To which I answer, that tho such Particles entring into the Blood,
may increase the heat and motion of it; yet it is not out of any
natural [^p.18^] tendency they have per se so to do; but
accidentally they may do it, by causing an intestin motion or
394

APPENDIX
fermentation, wherby the Cement of the Blood being loosned, and
its Texture much spoiled, this Flame is at liberty to burn more
furiously. Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 32
Nominalization Mounting
Base
Mount (v)
Definition OED Mounting n. 1. The action of ascending (lit. and fig.); the
action of climbing on to something, spec. the action of climbing
on to a mate for copulation. Also: the action of raising, preparing,
or organizing something.
Earliest attestation 1440 (OED)
Example
Therefore it is moderated by mountynge or goynge vpwarde.
Neuertheles it was mete that the veyne shulde goe downewarde
frome the ouer parte to the nether, that the grosse bloode myght
easely descende. De Vigo, Excellent.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Moving
Move (v)
OED Moving n. 1. a. A change of place, position, or state;
movement. Also: an act or the action of changing residence. Cf.
also Motion n. 2., in same sense.
c1382 (OED)
Therfore [/34./] it was conuenient that an Arterie shulde ascende
vpwarde fro~ the hart, for if hys pulsatiue mouynge, and subtile
bloode shulde haue gone downewarde, it wolde haue descended
to hastely. De Vigo, Excellent.
24 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Multiplying
Multiply (v)
OED Multiplying n. 3. The action or an act of finding the product
of two or more quantities; multiplication.
?a1400 (OED)
Then in multiplying the foresaid right Sine by 12. the product
will be 652$$357. you shall find the longitude of Vmbra recta to
be 25 (...). Blundevile, Cosmographie.
1 (verbal gerund)
Mundifying
Mundify (v)
OED Mundifying n. Obs. The action of mundify.
?a1425 (OED)
So after all the Escharres be remooued, then if there be required
mundifying and clensing, these following are vulgarly vsed, as
Vnguentum Apostolorum, called of some also Vnguentum
395

APPENDIX
Christianorum: (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Murdering
Base
Murder (v)
Definition OED Murdering n. 1. The action of murder (in various senses);
an instance of this, an act of murder.
Earliest attestation OE (OED)
Example
You may read of bragging [^p.4^] Lamech, Gen. 4, 23. who
boasted of murthering. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Mutation
Base < Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French mutation (...) <
mūtāt–, past participial stem of mūtāre (to change) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Mutation n. 1. a. The action or process of changing;
alteration or change in form, qualities, etc.; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
[^GREEK OMITTED^] after the Grekes, of the Latines termed
Synochus siue continens putrida, in English a continual rotten
[/40./] Ague, which as Galen sayth continueth without anye
mutacion or verye littell, (...). Jones, Dial.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Mutilation
Base
< Anglo-Norman mutilacion, (...) < classical Latin mutilāt–, past
participial stem of mutilāre (mutilate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Mutilation n. 2. a. More generally: the action of mutilating
a person or animal; the severing or maiming of a limb or bodily
organ; an instance of this. Also: the fact or condition of being
mutilated or maimed.
Earliest attestation 1563 (EMEMT)
Example (...) but the errouors of theis are so grose as requireth no
aunswere, seinge that throughe suche kindes of incisions, it
happeneth the greate vaynes, and arteries to be cut, and so
greate flux of blode to folowe, (beside the doulour, and payne
which foloweth and many tymes losse, and mutilation of the
membre) as is in no case tollorable. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Nominating
Nominate (v)
OED Nominating n. The action of nominating a person or
persons; nomination.
a1599 (OED)
I might easily bring in a confused number of other remedies to
the same end & purpose, out of diuers learned mens writings,
396

APPENDIX
which heer to repeate were needles, and to no great vse, sith I
know these may suffice: Wherefore I thinke it good to pretermit
the nominating of the rest, &c. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization North-easting
Base
North-east (n)
Definition OED North-easting n. Obs. Deviation of a compass needle from
true north in a north-east direction.
Earliest attestation 1555 (OED)
Example
And also to know how much any Mariners Compasse doth varie
from the true North and South, in Northeasting or Northwesting,
wereof I shall speake more at large hereafter in my treatise of
Nauigation. Blundevile, Briefe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization North-westing
Base
North-west (n)
Definition OED North-westing n. Obs. Deviation of a compass needle from
true north in a north-west direction.
Earliest attestation 1571 (OED)
Example
And also to know how much any Mariners Compasse doth varie
from the true North and South, in Northeasting or Northwesting,
wereof I shall speake more at large hereafter in my treatise of
Nauigation. Blundevile, Briefe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Nourishing
Base
Nourish (v)
Definition OED Nourishing n. 2. The action of nourish (in various senses).
Cf. also Nourishment n.1., Nutrition n. 1.a. and Nutriture 2. †a.,
in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1325 (c1300) (OED)
Example
(...) and the cause of this holownesse is this, for to keepe the
bloud for his nourishing, and the ayre to abate and temper the
great heate that he is in, the which is kept in his concauities.
Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Nourishment
Base
< Anglo-Norman nurissement, (...) < nourrir (to nourish) + –ment
(–ment), and partly < nourish + –ment
Definition OED Nourishment n. 1. The action, process, or fact of
nourishing; nurture. Cf. also Nourishing n. 2., Nutrition n. 1.a.
and Nutriture 2. †a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1330 (1300) (OED)
Example It was declared before how nourishments as of all other
397

APPENDIX
humours, so of melancholie, they affoord the matter, to the which
nature applying her proper temper as an instrument, and
practizing that skill which she hath learned of God, worketh out
both humours and substance for preseruation and nourishment
of our bodies; (...). Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 17
Nominalization Noying
Base
Noy (v)
Definition OED Noying n. Obs. The action of noy; annoyance; (also) harm,
injury.
Earliest attestation c1398 (OED)
Example
(...) he commeth through the Piamater, of whose substaunce he
taketh a Pannicle or a Cote: and the cause why he taketh that
Pannicle, is to keepe him from noying: (...). Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Numbering
Number (v)
OED Numbering n. The action of number (in various senses); an
instance of this.
c1325 (c1300) (OED)
These pores were so exceeding small and thick, that in a line of
them, 1$$18 of an Inch long, I found by numbring them no less
then small pores; (...). Hooke, Micrographia.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Nutrition
Base
< Middle French, French nutrition (...) < classical Latin nūtrīt–,
past participial stem of nūtrīre (to nourish) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Nutrition n. 1. a. The action or process of supplying, or of
receiving, nourishment or food. Cf. also Nourishing n. 2.,
Nourishment n.1. and Nutriture 2. †a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation ?a1425 (OED)
Example
(...) I should first begin with the Formation of the Fœtus, and its
original constituent parts, with the manner of its Nutrition and
Increase before all the parts are perfect, and how after, till the
time of Birth; the performance of which task only is sufficient for
a Volume: (...). Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 11
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Nutriture
< post-classical Latin nutritura nourishment (...) < classical Latin
nūtrīt–, past participial stem of nūtrīre (to nourish) + –ūra (–ure)
OED Nutriture n. 2. †a. Nourishment, nutrition. Obs. Cf. also
Nourishing n. 2., Nourishment n.1. and Nutrition n. 1.a., in same
sense.
398

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation 1568 (OED)
Example
An Atrophy is by some taken for a diminution of the body, for
want of good and laudable nutriment (food,) which being rejected
by the parts, must necessarily shrink for want of better nutriture.
Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Objection
Base
< Middle French objection (...) < classical Latin obiect–, past
participial stem of obiicere (to object) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Objection n. and int. 3. The action or an act of challenging
or disagreeing with something; protest against or opposition to
something; counter-argument.
Earliest attestation 1543 (1466) (OED)
Example
It should seeme (as the obiection importeth) that which before
hath bene attributed to the kind of nourishme~t should rather rise
of the bodie nourished, (...). Bright, Melancholie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Observation
Base
< Middle French, French observation (...) < observāt–, past
participial stem of observāre (to observe) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Observation n. 7. a. The action or an act of observing
scientifically; esp. the careful watching and noting of an object or
phenomenon in regard to its cause or effect, or of objects or
phenomena in regard to their mutual relations (contrasted with
experiment). Also: a measurement or other piece of information
so obtained; an experimental result. Cf. also Observing n. 2., in
same sense.
Earliest attestation 1559 (OED)
Example
This night, making many tryals and observations of this
Experiment, I met, among a multitude of the Globular ones
whichI had observed, a couple of Instances, which are very
remarkable to the confirmation of my Hypothesis. Hooke, Life.
Tokens 6
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Observing
Observe (v)
OED Observing n. 2. The action of watching, noticing, or
subjecting to scientific observation. Freq. attrib. Cf. also
Observation n. 7. a., in same sense.
1613 (OED)
(...) nor is it my present design o expatiate upon Instances of te
same kind, but rather to give a Specimen of as many kinds as I
have had opportunity as yet of observing, reserving the
prosecution and enlarging on particulars till a more fit
opportunity; (...). Hooke, Micrographia.
399

APPENDIX
Tokens 2
Nominalization Obstruction
Base
< classical Latin obstructiōn–, (...) < obstruct–, past participial
stem of obstruere (to obstruct) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Obstruction n. 1. The action or an act of blocking or
rendering impassable an opening, passage, thoroughfare, etc.; the
fact or condition of being blocked or impassable; (Med.)
blockage of a body passage, esp. the gastrointestinal, urinary,
biliary, or respiratory tract; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1533 (OED)
Example
AN Hypochondriack Consumption is an extenuation of the fleshy
parts, occasioned by an infarction (clogging and over filling,)
and obstruction of the Spleen, pancreas, mesaraick, and
Stomachick Vessels, through melancholly, or gross, dreggish,
tartarous humours; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 6
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Obtaining
Obtain (v)
OED Obtaining n. The action of obtain.
1470 (OED)
(...) for that by your talke I haue learned what Chirurgiry is, the
antiquitie of it, & noble authours that did professe it, of howe
manye parts it doth consiste on, also what is the subiect or matter
on whych the Chirurgian doth exercyse his art, and what is the
ende or final intention [^f.7v^] of Chirurgerye: nowe I wyll
further desyre you to showe me the waye to procede in lernynge
and obteyning thys noble and famous arte. Gale, Institution.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Occasion
Base < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French occasion (...) <
occās–, past participial stem of occidere (to fall) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Occasion n1. †5. The action of causing or occasioning
something. Also (in extended use): that which is caused or
occasioned. Obs.
Earliest attestation a1533 (OED)
Example
WHEN as in thys treatise I entend to declare thoccasion of Agues
(almost no degrees excepted that in our time it hath not vexed) it
behoueth fyrst to define what an ague is folowing Cicero, which
[/1./] saith that euery thing which we purpose to speake of must
rise of his definitio~. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Offense
< Anglo-Norman and Middle French offense, offence (French
400

APPENDIX
offense) injury, wrong, annoyance.
Definition OED Offense n. 4. b. The action or fact of offending, wounding
the feelings of, or displeasing another (usually viewed as it
affects the person offended); an instance of this.
Earliest attestation c1390 (OED)
Example
Touching the direction of those which haue bin accustomed to
drinke wine, I do nothing doubt, but that they may without
offence beare such drinks for the sight compounded with wine to
take a draught in the morning, especially if the allay the [^p.9^]
same with the distilled water of fenell, according to Arnoldus
counsell. Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Omission
Base
< Anglo-Norman omission, (...) < classical Latin omiss–, past
participial stem of omittere (to omit) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Omission n. 1. The non-performance or neglect of an action
which one has a moral duty or legal obligation to perform; an
instance of this. Cf. also Omitting n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
And because exercise doth evacuate by sweat, much superfluous
and excrementitious matter, the omission or long intermission of
any accustomed exercise may be an occasion [/46./] of the Gout.
Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Omitting
Base
Omit (v)
Definition OED Omitting n. The action of omit; an instance of this. Cf. also
Omission n. 1., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1450 (OED)
Example
In Simple Wounds the Chirurgeon is to afford his assistence five
manner of ways; the omitting of any one of which will render
him negligent or ignorant in his Trade. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Opening
Open (v)
OED Opening n. 1. a. The action of making open; an instance of
this. Also in extended use: the opening of a shop for business, the
opening of an area for trade, etc.
OE (OED)
These I putte, for that the tyme of the yere hote, makethe moche
to the malice of the disease, in openynge the pores of the body,
lettynge in the euill aier, resoluynge the humores and makynge
them flowable, and disposing therfore the spirites accordyngly,
besyde, that (as I shewed in the first cause of this pestilente
401

APPENDIX
Tokens
sweate) it stirreth and draweth out of the erthe euill exhalations
and mistes, to thinfection of the aier and displeasure of vs.
Caius, Sweatyng.
6 (3 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Operation
Base
< Middle French, French operation (...) < operāt–, past
participial stem of operārī (to operate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Operation n. 1. a. The exertion of force or influence;
working, activity; a manner of working, the way in which a thing
works.
Earliest attestation a1393 (OED)
Example
Chirurgia is a Greek terme composed of [^GREEK OMITTED^]
which signifieth a hand, and [^GREEK OMITTED^] to work:
Because it restoreth health to the bodies of men by manual
operation. Read, Workes.
Tokens 55
Nominalization Oppilation
Base
< classical Latin oppīlātiōn–, (...) < oppīlāt–, past participial stem
of oppīlāre (to oppilate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Oppilation n. Med. Obs. The action of obstructing or
stopping something up; the condition of being obstructed or
blocked; an obstruction.
Earliest attestation a1400 (OED)
Example
Agaynst opylacyon of the lyuer or of y~ mylte/ take Aloe w~ iuce
of smalache warme/ or make decoccyo~ of y~ rotes of smalache/
percely/ fenell/ benworte/ & sparge w~ two drammes of mastyke/
and vse it ii. or iii. tymes in the weke. Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Opposition
Base
< Middle French, French opposition (...) < classical Latin
opposit–, past participial stem of oppōnere (to set against) + –iō
(–ation)
Definition OED Opposition n. 3. a. Contrary or hostile argument or action;
resistance; dissent, or contradiction; objection. With against or
esp. to. in opposition to: in conflict or disagreement with.
Earliest attestation 1548 (OED)
Example
An Hectick Feaver implyes a twofold sense. 1. It's taken for any
confirm'd, [^p.13^] fix'd, and durable Feaver, admitting of no
easie cure, or rather a Feaver that's grown habitual, in
opposition to a Schetical (superficial or moveable) Feaver,
which being but lately arrived is easily expelled, as a Diary or
Putrid Feaver. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
402

APPENDIX
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Oppressing
Oppress (v)
OED Oppressing n. Now rare. = oppression, in various senses.
Cf. Oppression n. †5., in same sense.
a1382 (OED)
The Gout is a greife in some by [/8./] way of oppressing the part;
when as it commeth of a cold humor, and this kinde is incident
most to old men, who abound in cold humors, by reason of the
decay of naturall heat. Holland, Gutta.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Oppression
Base
< Anglo-Norman oppression, (...) < oppress–, past participial
stem of opprimere (to oppress) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Oppression n. †5. Chiefly poet. The action of pressing or
weighing down; pressure, weight, burden. Obs. Cf. also
Oppressing n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1490 (OED)
Example
The seconde is, that in the time of concussion or oppression, the
softe members or limmes should not be hurt of the harde: (...).
Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Ordering
Base
Order (v)
Definition OED Ordering n. The action of order (in various senses); (also)
an instance of this.
Earliest attestation c1350 (c1333) (OED)
Example [}Pet.}] How many poyntes are there to be obserued in the [/26./]
curation of wounds? [}Ioh.}] Fiue, in ordering of vniversall
remedies, with good [^p.282^] regiment of life, and good ayre,
which must be hote and temperate: (...). Lowe, Art.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Origination
Base
< classical Latin orīginātiō (...) < orīgin–, orīgō (origing) + –ātiō
(–ation) as if < a verb originare (to originate)
Definition OED Origination n. 1. a. Coming into existence, commencement,
beginning (in reference to cause or source); rise, origin.
Earliest attestation c1443 (OED)
Example
Which Histories, if well consider’d, and the tre, substance, an
manner of growing, if well examin’d, would, I am very apt to
believe, much confirm this my conjecture about the origination
of Cork. Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Ostentation
403

APPENDIX
Base
< Middle French, French ostentation (...) < ostentāt–, past
participial stem of ostentāre (to ostentate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Ostentation n. 2. Display intended to attract notice or
admiration; pretentious, vainglorious, or vulgar show; pointed or
exaggerated exhibition, showing off; (also) an instance of this.
Earliest attestation a1475 (OED)
Example
Seeing so many as have written of Tumors have set down one
definition or another, if I should set down all the severall
definitions which are by divers Authors set down, and insist in the
refutation of such definitions as offend against the conditions of a
good definition, I should rather seem to the judicious, to make an
ostentation of reading, and wit, then a care of the profiting of the
hearers. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Overfilling
Base
Overfill (v)
Definition OED Overfilling n. The action of overfill; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1666 (EMEMT)
Example
AN Hypochondriack Consumption is an extenuation of the fleshy
parts, occasioned by an infarction (clogging and over filling,)
and obstruction of the Spleen, pancreas, mesaraick,and
Stomachick Vessels,through melancholly, or gross, dreggish,
tartarous humours; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Over-labouring
Base
Over-labour (v)
Definition OED Over-labouring n. The action of over-labour; overwork,
excessive toil.
Earliest attestation 1578 (OED)
Example
Lastly, the diminution of parts must be latent (hidden,) not caused
by an overlabouring, or want of sleep, or by being over liberal
in satisfying Womens impertinences, the causes whereof as they
are externally obvious, so they imply no Consumption; (...).
Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Overwaking
Overwake (v)
The action of keeping oneself awake too long.
Cf. Overwake v. Obs. 2. trans. To remain awake longer than.
Also refl.: to keep oneself awake too long.
Add hereunto the continual vigilies (overwaking, or want of
sleep,) melancholique, sorry, dull, lingring passions, the said
404

APPENDIX
Hypochondriack patient is præcipitated (forced) into, (...).
Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Painting
Base
Paint (v)
Definition OED Painting n. 1. b. The representing of a subject on a surface
by the application of paint or colours; the art of making such
representations; (in extended use) the practice of applying paint
to a canvas, etc., for any artistic purpose.
Earliest attestation a1387 (OED)
Example
Of this I had a Proof in such Locks worn by two very Fair Ladies
that you know. For at some times I observed, that they could not
keep their Locks from flying to their Cheeks, and though neither
of them made any use, or had any need of Painting from sticking
there. Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Palpitation
Base
< classical Latin palpitātiōn–, (...) < palpitāt–, past participial
stem of palpitāre (to palpitate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Palpitation n. 1. Throbbing, quivering, or contraction of a
part of the body; spec. perceptibly fast, strong, or irregular
beating of the heart; an instance of this (freq. in pl.).
Earliest attestation ?1425 (OED)
Example
They say so of the English sweating disease, that many which
scaped it, had a great palpitation of the heart two or three years
after, others all their lives. Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Participation
Base
< Anglo-Norman participacion (...) < participāt–, past participial
stem of participāre (to participate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Participation n. †1.a. The action or fact of having or
forming part of something; the sharing of something. In early
use: the fact of sharing or possessing the nature, quality, or
substance of a person or thing. Obs.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
And moreouer the sayd Rasis sayeth, that whan the heade
sprynge that is the [^f.4v^] brayne is endammaged, al the ryuers
namely synnowes descendynge frome the same be also
endammaged, by the reason of participation. De Vigo,
Excellent.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Passage
< Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French, French
405

APPENDIX
passage (...) apparently partly < passare (to pass) + –aticum
(–age), and partly < passus (pace) + –aticum (–age)
Definition OED Passage n. 1. a. The action of going or moving onward,
across, or past; movement from one place or point to another, or
over or through a space or medium; transit. Cf. also Passing n. 1.
b., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1300 (OED)
Example
[}Pet.}] What is the cause of this putrefaction? [}Io.}] Either
corruption of the spirit vitall, or else viscous and cold humors,
which stop the passage of the vitall spirit, some are causes
primitiues as stroakes, contusion, straight binding, and such like.
Lowe, Art.
Tokens 8
Nominalization Passing
Base
Pass (v)
Definition OED Passing n. 1. b. The action of going or moving on, through,
or by; an instance of this; the process or fact of changing from
one state to another. Also: †movement, motion (obs.). Cf. also
Passage n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
Your Rowler running downwards will press out the Matter from
the affected Part, and by passing upward hinder the influx of
Humours. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Penetration
Base
< Middle French, French pénétration (...) < penetrāt–, past
participial stem of penetrāre (to penetrate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Penetration n. 1. a. The action, or an act, of penetrating,
piercing, or passing into or through something. Occas. also:
permeation, as of one fluid by another.
Earliest attestation ?a1425 (OED)
Example
(...) and if the Wound happen in the Abdomen, it gives a suspicion
(to those that are not well skilled in the Symptoms of Wounds) to
think that it ariseth from the penetration of the Wound, when
there is no such thing; and so by the perseverance in those Rules
the Patient suffers. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Perdition
< Anglo-Norman perdiciun, (...) ( < per– (per–) + dare (to give)
+ –iō (–ation)
OED Perdition n. 1.†b. Chiefly rhetorical. Loss; diminution;
degradation. Obs.
c1555 (OED)
If all the members maye regenerate [^f.6v^] after their perdition,
406

APPENDIX
and knit againe after their dislocation? Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Perfection
Base
< Anglo-Norman perfeccion, (...) < perfect–, past participial stem
of perficere + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Perfection n. 5. The action, process, or fact of making
something perfect or bringing something to (esp. successful)
completion.
Earliest attestation a1382 (OED)
Example
The Wound being a Solution of continuity, doth require to be
made one [/5./] again, Unity being the perfection of whatsoever
hath a being. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 4
Nominalization Performance
Base
Perform (v)
Definition OED Performance n. 1. a. The accomplishment or carrying out of
something commanded or undertaken; the doing of an action or
operation. Cf. also Performing n. 1., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1487 (OED)
Example
For the right performance of which task, I must first give a short
account of Nutrition, without which my present Undertaking will
be altogether maimed and imperfect. Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Performing
Perform (v)
OED Performing n. 1. The performance of an action, task, duty,
etc. Cf. also Performance n. 1., in same sense.
c1390 (OED)
(...) that there ought to be a great deal of care taken about it, not
only in performing the operation, which is the easiest that can
be, by an Instrument; but in determining the just quantities in
different Patients, (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
7 (6 of them verbal gerunds)
Persecution
< Anglo-Norman persecution, (...) < persecūt–, past participial
stem of persequī (to persecute) + –iō (–ation)
OED Persecution n. 1. a. An instance or act of persecuting; an
injurious act.
c1350 (OED)
(...) Moyses fled into Egipt: perhappes here wyl some obiect and
say, it was not for feare of y=e= plague, but for feare of death
throughe persecutio~, (...). Jones, Dial.
407

APPENDIX
Tokens 2
Nominalization Perseverance
Base
< Anglo-Norman parseverance (...) < persevērant–, persevērāns,
present participle of persevērāre (to persevere) + –ia (–ia)
Definition OED Perseverance n. 1. a. The fact, process, condition, or quality
of persevering; constant persistence in a course of action or
purpose; steadfast pursuit of an aim, esp. in the face of difficulty
or obstacles; assiduity.
Earliest attestation 1340 (OED)
Example
(...) &c. and if the Wound happen in the Abdomen, it gives a
suspicion (to those that are not well skilled in the Symptoms of
Wounds) to think that it ariseth from the penetration of the
Wound, when there is no such thing; and so by the perseverance
in those Rules the Patient suffers. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Perspiration
Base < Middle French perspiration (...) < perspirer (to perspire) +
–ation
Definition OED Perspiration n. 1. a. The excretion of moisture through the
pores of the skin, originally only imperceptibly as vapour, now
also visibly as fluid droplets or sweat as a result of heat, physical
exertion, stress, etc.; sweating.
Earliest attestation 1583 (OED)
Example (...) whereas by our historical account of the last year, 'tis
evident that the blood may be mightily chang'd by an
interruption of perspiration, and now in case of a fall, in less
than 24 hours, and that bleeding may actually dispose the blood
for becoming better, by promoting the secretions, [^p.15^] and
recovering its colour and strength in almost as short a time as
they were lost. Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Perturbance
Base
< classical Latin perturbant–, perturbāns, present participle of
perturbāre (to perturb)
Definition OED Perturbance n. = perturbation. Cf. Perturbation n. 2., in
same sense.
Earliest attestation c1425 (OED)
Example
This excrement, if it keepeth the bounds of his owne nature,
breedeth lesse perturbance either to bodie or minde: (...).
Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Perturbation
< Anglo-Norman perturbaciun, (...) < perturbāt–, past participial
408

APPENDIX
stem of perturbāre (to perturb) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Perturbation n. 2. The disturbance of the regular order or
state of a thing; irregular variation or disorder. In quot. a1398:
†turbulence (obs.). Cf. Perturbance n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1382 (OED)
Example
But also to the whole skin, wherevpon the greatnes of the pulse
remaineth, eue~ so signes of y=e= other Diaries comming of the
perturbation of the minde, must chiefely be rquired of the pulse,
[^f.D3r^] for in sadnes the spirites be caried within, but not
gentel, & there they be corrupted, (...). Jones, Dial.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Perusing
Base
Peruse (v)
Definition OED Perusing n. 3. More generally: examination, inspection; =
perusal. Now rare.
Earliest attestation 1556 (OED)
Example
And right ouer the head of euery Sine the first collum of Sines
onely excepted, having nothing but a Cypher ouer his head are
set downe the degrees of the whole Quadrant called arches, in
such order as from the first Page to the last, there are in all 89.
degrees, or arches, as by perusing the said tables you may
plainely see. Blundevile, Briefe.
Tokens
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Perversion
Base
< classical Latin perversiōn–, (...) < pervers–, past participial
stem of pervertere (to pervert) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Perversion n. 2. Med. An alteration of a physiological
function such that it becomes abnormal in kind rather than in
degree; (also) distortion of a body part.
Earliest attestation 1612 (EMEMT)
Example
[}Pet.}] Which are the signes of spasme? [}Ioh.}] Difficile
moouing of the body, tention of the necke, contraction of the
lippes, astriction of the iawes, peruertion of the eyes and face,
which, if it take the course to the parts appoynted for respiration,
it is lamentable, and the sicke shall soone dye, that which is
confirmed, is incurable. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Petrifaction
< petri– + –faction
OED Petrifaction n. 1. a. The action of petrifying something; the
condition or process of being petrified; conversion into stone or a
stony substance; an instance of this; (Geol. and Palaeontol.) the
replacement of the soft organic parts of plant or animal remains
by inorganic material, esp. calcium carbonate or silica, often
409

APPENDIX
preserving the original structure of the organism (also known as
mineralization or fossilization).
Earliest attestation ?a1425 (OED)
Example
And indeed, all that I have yet seen, seem to have been rotten
Wood before the petrifaction was begun; (...). Hooke,
Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Piercing
Base
Pierce (v)
Definition OED Piercing n. 1. The action of pierce (lit. and fig.); the act of
piercing, perforating, penetrating, or boring a hole in something.
Earliest attestation c1390 (OED)
Example
This salin sap of the Vessels for being refused reception of the
parts, indues daily a greater [^p.33^] ferocity (fierceness,) and
declares it self in a more hostile (like an Enemy) manner, by
insinuating (peircing) into the profundity (depth) of the parts,
and so drying, absorbing (sucking up,) and consuming the
Radical moisture and Innate heat, arrives to a Proper
Consumption. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Pissing
Base
Piss (v)
Definition OED Pissing n. Now chiefly coarse slang. 1. The action of piss
(in various senses); urination.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
The Bladder being hurt, there is great dolour on the sheere-bone
and Ilya, pissing of bloud, voyding of the vryne at the wound,
vomiting of choller, coldnesse of extremities. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Placing
Place (v)
OED Placing n. 1. The action of place; setting, location;
arrangement; an act or instance of this. Also: the fact or condition
of being placed.
c1449 (OED)
Againe by placing the Spheare so as both the Poles may lie
vppon the Horizon, you shall see the shape of the first right
Sphear, wherin the Horizon passeth throgh both the Poles of the
world, and the Equinoctiall passeth through the Poles of the
Horizon, (...). Blundevile, Cosmographie.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Playing
Play (v)
410

APPENDIX
Definition OED Playing n. 1. The action of play in various senses.
Earliest attestation c1300 (c1225) (OED)
Example
But that immediatly killed some in opening theire windowes,
some in plaieng with children in their strete dores, some in one
hour, many in two it destroyed, & at the longest, to the~ that
merilye dined, it gaue a sorowful Supper. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Pleading
Base
Plead (v)
Definition OED Pleading n. †1. Litigation, disputation; an instance of this,
esp. a lawsuit, an action. Obs.
Earliest attestation c1275 (c1216) (OED)
Example
You may laugh at my pleading for them: but I hope you will
consider that I am a Water-drinker the while. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Plucking
Base
Pluck (v)
Definition OED Plucking n. 1. The action of pluck (in various senses); an
instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1440 (OED)
Example
This last action as it appeareth is verie easily performed by a
skilfull Operator or cunning Chirurgian: neyther doth it require
any great curiosity, but a decent and artificiall strong binding,
meete for the plucking of them out as it is said by the rootes.
Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Ponderation
Base
< classical Latin ponderātiōn–, (...) < ponderāt–, past participial
stem of ponderāre (to ponder) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Ponderation n. 2. a. The action or an act of mental
weighing, assessment, or deliberation; pondering, contemplation,
musing.
Earliest attestation 1556 (OED)
Example
Fruites shoulde be taken when that they be at their ful growth, or
when they fal, & the heuier y~ fruite is, the better, & those that
be great and light in ponderation chuse not them, and those that
be gathered in fayr, wether be better then chose that be gathered
in rayne. Partridge, Treasurie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Praying
Pray (v)
OED Praying n. The act or practice of offering or engaging in
prayer; a prayer or earnest request.
411

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation a1382 (OED)
Example
After these I translated out of Greke into Latine a litle boke of
Nicephorus, declarynge howe a man maye in praiynge confesse
hym selfe, which after I dyd geue vnto [^f.7r^] Jho~ Grome
bacheler in arte, a yong man in yeres, but in witte & learnyng for
his tyme, of great expectatio~. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Precipitation
Base
< Middle French, French précipitation (...) < praecipitāt–, past
participial stem of praecipitāre ( to precipitate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Precipitation n. 6. Chiefly Chem. a. The separation and
deposition of a substance from solution in a liquid in a solid,
often powdery or flocculent, form, as a result of chemical action,
cooling, etc.; the formation of a precipitate; an instance of this;
(Immunol.) the combination of an antibody and an antigen to
form an insoluble complex; (Metall.) the separation of crystals of
a solute phase from a solid solution .
Earliest attestation c1550 (c1477) (OED)
Example
That is petrify’d Wood having lain in some place where it was
well soak’d with petrifying water that is, such a water as is well
impregnated with stony and earthy particles did by degrees
separate, either by straining and filtration, or perhaps, by
precipitation, cohesion or coagulation, abundance of stony
particles from the permeating water, (...). Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Preparation
Base
< Middle French preparacion, (...) < praeparāt–, past participial
stem of praeparāre + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Preparation n. 1. b. The action of preparing, or the
condition of being prepared; the action of putting or setting
something or someone in order for any action or purpose; making
or getting ready; fitting out. Freq. with for.
Earliest attestation a1393 (OED)
Example And [^p.19^] Montagnana doeth mention a certaine [/73./]
kinde of preparation of the iuice of fenell, singular good to
preserue the sight from dimnesse, to take the iuce of fenell in the
month of Aprill, and to put it in a vessell of glasse, with a long
and narrow necke, and let it stand fifteene daies in the sunne,(...).
Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens 6
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Preservation
< Middle French préservation (...) < praeservat–, past participial
stem of praeservare (to preserve) + classical Latin –iō (–ation)
OED Preservation n. 1. The action of preserving from damage,
412

APPENDIX
decay, or destruction; the fact of being preserved. Cf. Preserving
n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation ?a1425 (OED)
Example
Of medicine there are two principal parts, [^GREEK
OMITTED^], and [^GREEK OMITTED^]. The first teacheth the
preservation of [/13./] health by convenient dyet, exercises, and
such like: The second [/14./] teacheth, how health lost may be
recovered. Read, Workes.
Tokens 13
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Preserving
Preserve (v)
OED Preserving n. The action of preserve (in various senses); an
instance of this. Cf. Preservation n. 1., in same sense.
?1425 (OED)
The Particular Regiment is, in preserving the natural Heat and
Tone of [/43./] the Parts, without which we can hope for no
Union. For the better understanding hereof, I must put you in
mind, that there is not any Part of our body admits of a Solution
of continuity without Pain. Wiseman, Wounds,
3 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Pressing
Base
Press (v)
Definition OED Pressing n. 1 1. The action or process of press.
Earliest attestation 1343 (OED)
Example
I Shall not here stay upon Juices or Liquors which may be drawn
out of Animals, as Blood, Flegm, Urine, Serosities, Sweat, &c.
Nor upon those which may be drawn from their parts by assation,
pressing, or otherwise, as the Gravies, and Liquors of Meats,
&c. Charas, Royal.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Preventing
Prevent (v)
OED Preventing n. 2. The action of precluding or stopping an
anticipated act or event.
1563 (OED)
The fifth is, in preventing ill Accidents, and correcting such as
have already seized on the Part. Thus much is required if the
Wound be only Simple: but if it be a Compound [/6./] Wound,
with loss of Substance, or Contusion, then he hath somewhat
more to do. Wiseman, Wounds.
4 (3 of them verbal gerunds)
Pricking
Prick (v)
413

APPENDIX
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens 6
OED Pricking n. 1. a. The action or process of piercing,
puncturing, or wounding with, or as with, a pointed instrument or
weapon. Freq. (and in earliest use) fig.: the infliction of mental or
emotional pain, as grief, distress, sorrow, remorse, regret, etc.
Also: an instance of this; a physical, metal, or emotional
wounding.
OE (OED)
A Tertian beginneth with rigour like the pricking of Needles, and
endeth with vaporous sweat. Wood, Alphabetical.
Nominalization Privation
Base
< Anglo-Norman privacioun (...) < priver (to prive) + –ation
Definition OED Privation n. 2. a. The action of depriving a person or thing
of, or of taking something away; the fact of being deprived of
something; deprivation. Now rare.
Earliest attestation a1425(a1400) (OED)
Example
[}Pet.}] What is Paralisie? [}Ioh.}] It is a mollification,
relaxation, or resolution of the nerues, with priuation of the
moouing, whereof there is two kinds, vniuersall and particular.
Lowe, Art.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Probing
Base
Probe (v)
Definition OED Probing n. The action of probe (in various senses); an
instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1665 (OED)
Example
I have not mention'd their Tenting, Probing, and other
nonsensical trumpery, which is still used by most Chirurgeons, to
the great detriment of their Patients, because many judicious
Chirurgeons in all places begin to leave them off; (...). Colbatch,
Novum.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Procreation
< Middle French procreacion, (...) < prōcreāt–, past participial
stem of prōcreāre (to procreate) + –iō (–ation)
OED Procreation n. 1. The action of procreating; reproduction,
generation, propagation of species; the fact of being begotten.
c1395 (OED)
The Astrologians addeth [/62./] to the procreation of these
plages recited, the influence of certain starres endusing the
plage, yea and the times therof shorter or longer to reigne,
againste the whych with Agricola, I saye it pleaseth vs not to
inuay, y=e= Deuines sayeth, the punishment of God for oure
offences: (...). Jones, Dial.
414

APPENDIX
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Procuring
Procure (v)
OED Procuring n. †1. The action of causing, arranging, or
bringing about, esp. through an agent; = procurement. Obs.
c1330 (OED)
All which do not one way procure the Gout, but some by breeding
the matter thereof, some by procuring the deflux of the matter,
some by weakning the joynts, making them subject to the deflux.
Holland, Gutta.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Producing
Base
Produce (v)
Definition OED Producing n. The action of produce (in various senses); the
production of something. Cf. Production n. 1. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1466 (OED)
Example
(...) by natures Mechanical operation (the very paterne of all
arts, both liberall and seruile), is discouered & brought into an
actuall substance consisting of his single & proper nature, which
before had only a potentiall subsistence as members & parts
haue in the whole. Which producing I vnderstand not a
discouerie only, as by withdrawing availe, to shew that which lay
behind it, but a generation and coupling of matter with the
forme: (...). Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Production
Base
< Middle French production, (...) < prōduct–, past participial
stem of prōdūcere (to product) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Production n. 1. a. The action or an act of producing,
making, or causing anything; generation or creation of
something; the fact or condition of being produced. Cf.
Producing n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1450 (c1410) (OED)
Example
Secondly, a falling of the small guts into the cod by enlarging or
renting of the production of the Peritonæum, which we call a
rupture. When I come to this point, I will set downe the diversities
of ruptures, and the meanes of curing of each: (...). Read,
Workes.
Tokens 10
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Profiting
Profit (v)
OED Profiting n. The action of profit (in various senses). Also:
an instance of this; a benefit, a gain.
415

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation c1384 (OED)
Example
Seeing so many as have written of Tumors have set down one
definition or another, if I should set down all the severall
definitions which are by divers Authors set down, and insist in the
refutation of such definitions as offend against the conditions of a
good definition, I should rather seem to the judicious, to make an
ostentation of reading, and wit, then a care of the profiting of the
hearers. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Prognosticating
Prognosticate (v)
The act of forecasting. Cf. also Prognostication n. 1., in same
sense.
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens 2
Cf. Prognosticate v. 1. trans. a. Of a thing: to betoken or presage
(a future event, consequence, outcome, etc.); to indicate
beforehand.
1543 (EMEMT)
Whych dyseases the chirurgien maye ease in knowynge, in
curynge, and pronosticating. De Vigo, Excellent.
Nominalization Prognostication
Base
< Middle French, French pronostication (...) < prognosticat–,
past participial stem of prognosticare (to prognosticate) +
classical Latin –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Prognostication n. 1. Med. a. A prognosis (now rare); the
action or an act of making a prognosis. Cf. also Prognosticating
n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1400 (OED)
Example
Also wyse and circunspecte in Prognostications, last of all, he
muste be chaste and temperate of body, mercifull towarde the
pore, and not to gredy of mony. and this is sufficient touchynge
the description of hym, that muste be admitted in Chirurgerye.
Gale, Institution.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Promising
Promise (v)
OED Promising n. The action of promise; the making of a
promise or promises.
1513 (OED)
The Prognosticks are there also delivered, that the young
Chirurgeon may be informed how to make judgement of them,
and avoid the ingaging himself in promising a Cure of such
Wounds as are mortal. Wiseman, Wounds.
416

APPENDIX
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
1 (verbal gerund)
Promoting
Promote (v)
OED Promoting n. 1. Advancement, furtherance, helping
forward.
1465 (OED)
(...) whereas by our historical account of the last year, 'tis evident
that the blood may be mightily chang'd by an interruption of
perspiration, and now in case of a fall, in less than 24 hours, and
that bleeding may actually dispose the blood for becoming better,
by promoting the secretions, [^p.15^] and recovering its colour
and strength in almost as short a time as they were lost.
Cockburn, Continuation.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Pronunciation
Base
< Anglo-Norman pronunciacione, (...) < prōnuntiāt–, past
participial stem of prōnuntiāre (to pronounce) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Pronunciation n. 1. b. The action of pronouncing a word or
words; the way in which a word is pronounced, esp. with
reference to a recognized standard.
Earliest attestation ?a1475 (?a1425) (OED)
Example
Whiche thing I suppose may the better be done, because I se
straunge and no english names both in Latine and Greke, by
commune vsage taken for Englishe. As in Latin, Feure,
Quotidia~, Tertian, Quartane, Aier, Infection, Pestilence,
Uomite, Person, Reines, Ueines, Peines, Chamere, Numbre, &c.
a litle altered by the commune pronunciation. Caius, Sweating.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Proportion
Base < Anglo-Norman proporcion, (...) ( < prō [pro] + portiōne ,
ablative of portiō [portion]),
Definition OED Proportion n. †4. The action of proportioning something, or
of making something proportionate; proportionate estimation,
reckoning, or adjustment. Obs.
Earliest attestation c1395 (OED)
Example
Geometry teacheth the drawing, Measuring and proporcion of
figures, but in as muche as no figure can be drawen, but it muste
haue certayne boundes and inclosures of lines: (...). Record,
Geometrie.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Prosecution
< Anglo-Norman and Middle French prosecution (...) < classical
Latin prōsecūt–, past participial stem of prōsequī (to prosecute) +
417

APPENDIX
–iō (–ation)
Definition OED Prosecution n. 1. a. The following up, continuation, or
pursuit of any action, scheme, or purpose with a view to its
accomplishment or completion.
Earliest attestation 1545 (OED)
Example
And in prosecution of this Experiment, having taken the filings of
Iron and Steel, and with the point of a Knife cast them through
the flame of a Candle, I observed where some conspicuous
shining Particles fell, (...). Hooke, Life .
Tokens 3
Nominalization Protection
Base
< Anglo-Norman protectione, (...) < prōtect–, past participial
stem of prōtegere (to protect) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Protection n. 1. a. The action of protecting someone or
something; the fact or condition of being protected; shelter,
defence, or preservation from harm, danger, damage, etc.;
guardianship, care; patronage.
Earliest attestation c1350 (OED)
Example
(...) the last of which I intend to attempt in a Review of my
OEconomia Animalis, that it may want nothing of the perfection
I can give it, and may become more worthy of the learned Mr.
Bridgeman, under whose protection it ventur'd into the world
with so great advantage. Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Provision
Base
< Anglo-Norman provisione, (...) < prōvīs–, past participial stem
of prōvidēre (to provide) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Provision n. 3. a. The action or an act of providing,
preparing, or arranging in advance; the fact or condition of being
prepared or made ready beforehand; preparation. In more recent
use also (usu. with modifying word): the making available or
supplying of a service, esp. by the state.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
(...) that the curation in exhalatio~s, hurting rather y=e= body by
propriety of substance, then by quality, tendeth to two scopes,
namely to alter & chau~ge the place, and procure expiratio~.
But in these whych are hurt by qualitye, the curation of the
diseases be not only wrought by co~trary qualities, but also they
consyste of prouision altogether. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Publication
< Anglo-Norman pupplicacioun, (...) < pūblicāt–, past participial
stem of pūblicāre (to publish) + –iō (–ation)
OED Publication n. 1. a. The action of making something
418

APPENDIX
publicly known; public notification or announcement; an instance
of this. Cf. also Publishing n. 1., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1387 (OED)
Example
How be it, being sorry to minister offence to any, by reason of
publication heereof, notwithstanding, I haue been crediblie
enformed, and also it is vnto my selfe well knowne, (...). Clowes,
Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Publishing
Base
Publish (v)
Definition OED Publishing n. 1. The action of making something publicly
known; official or public notification; promulgation, public
announcement; = publication. Cf. Publication n. 1. a., in same
sense.
Earliest attestation ?c1450 (OED)
Example
I must needes thinke reuerently of the Author of this Caustick,
hoping his minde was not such to delight himselfe with
publishing of vntruth: (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Puffing
Base
Puff (v)
Definition OED Puffing n. 1. a. The action of blowing in short sharp blasts,
panting, or emitting puffs of air, smoke, steam, etc.; an instance
of this; the sound made by such action. Also: bombast, bluster; =
huffing.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
For what nedes manye wordes, watches do let nature from the
office of disgestinge, wherefore they leaue great rawnes, & lacke
of naturall heat enseweth, of the which euil humors foloweth:
again puffing of the face, moisture of the browes, and griefe of
the mouing of them, when as the faculty is resolued, copy of
vapors and humors troublinge. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Punishment
< Anglo-Norman punisceement, punisement, punishement,
punisshement...
OED Punishment n. 1. The infliction of a penalty or sanction in
retribution for an offence or transgression; (also) that which is
inflicted as a penalty; a sanction imposed to ensure the
application and enforcement of a law.
1402 (OED)
The Astrologians addeth [/62./] to the procreation of these plages
recited, the influence of certain starres endusing the plage, yea
and the times therof shorter or longer to reigne, againste the
419

APPENDIX
whych with Agricola, I saye it pleaseth vs not to inuay, y=e=
Deuines sayeth, the punishment of God for oure offences: (...).
Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Purgation
Base
< Anglo-Norman purgacioun, (...) < pūrgāt–, past participial
stem of pūrgāre (to purge) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Purgation n. 3. a. Originally: the cleansing of the body of
waste material, an excess of a humour, etc. In later use: spec. the
emptying of the bowels, esp. by the use of a laxative. Also: an
instance of this. Cf. also Purging n. 2., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1387 (OED)
Example
Agaynst the feuer quartayne or cotydyan/ for purgacyon take .v.
dra~mes of assa soden with wyne in a holowed rote called Malu~
terre/ tha~ streyne it and put therto hony or sugre/ and afore the
houre of the feuer make a supposytory onely of assa fetida
anoynted with oyle/ butter/ or hony for hurtyng. Anonymous,
Newe.
Tokens 5
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Purging
Purge (v)
OED Purging n. 2. Med. Elimination or expulsion of waste or
harmful material, ingested food, etc., from the body; spec. the act
of emptying the bowels or the administration or use of laxatives
to induce this. Cf. also Purgation n. 3. a., in same sense.
c1400 (OED)
After purging, it is good to sweat, and take heed of anger, fear or
passions, which stir up the humors that lie stil and close, and
make a plague without any society with them of the plague.
Sennert, Practical.
10 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Purifying
Purify (v)
OED Purifying n. The action of purify; cleansing, purification; an
instance of this.
c1384 (OED)
The eeris be grystly vpo~ y=e= petrosu~ bone ordayned for to
here/ to the whiche y=t= co~me otwahrt holys vnto the senewes
of y=e= brayn~es where the heerynge is/ vnder the eerys is
flesshe lyke carnellis that maketh the puryfienge of y=e=
braynes/ by the which goothe .ij. vaynes y=t= conuay y=e=
spermatyke or seedly mater or substance downe to the ballockis.
Braunschweig, Handy.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
420

APPENDIX
Nominalization Pursuance
Base
Pursue (v)
Definition OED Pursuance n. 1. The action of continuing or going on with
an action, process, etc.; furtherance, continuance; an instance of
this.
Earliest attestation 1601 (OED)
Example
(...) tho if it [^p.21^] exceeds its natural state in these properties,
another bleeding must be appointed in pursuance of the abovementioned
design, which will prevent the use of bleeding in
Fevers, as we use a charm to blood, and that all. Cockburn,
Continuation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Putting
Put (v)
OED Putting n1. 3. The action of placing, laying, setting, etc.
a1400 (OED)
By which policie skilful Acron deliuered Athenes in Gretia, and
diuine Hippocrates abdera~ in Thratia fro~ y=e= pestile~ce, &
preserued fro~ the same other the cities in Grece, at diuerse
times co~yng with the wynde fro~ æthiopia illyria & pæonia, by
putting to the fires wel smelling garla~des, floures & odoures, as
Galene and Soranus write. Caius, Sweatyng.
4 (3 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Putrefaction
Base
< Middle French putrefaction, (...) < classical Latin putrefact–,
past participial stem of putrefacere (to putrefact) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Putrefaction n. 1. The state of being putrid; rottenness; the
process or action of putrefying or rotting; spec. the
decomposition by bacteria of dead animal or plant tissue, which
becomes foul-smelling as a result. Cf. also Putrification n. and
Putrefying n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1400 (OED)
Example
For as fire in hardes or straw, is sone in flambe & sone oute,
euen so heate in the spirites, either by simple distemperature, or
by infection and putrefaction therin conceyued, is sone in flambe
and sone out, and soner for the vehemencye or greatnes of the
same, whiche without lingering, consumeth sone the light matter,
(...). Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 22
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Putrification
< post-classical Latin putrificat–, past participial stem of
putrificare (to cause to rot) (...) + –ficus (–fic)
OED Putrification n. = putrefaction. Cf. Putrefaction n. and
421

APPENDIX
Putrefying n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1548 (OED)
Example
In the first he deuided the nutratiue members, for they be
disposed to putrification: And in the seconde, spirituall
members. And in the thirde, the animall members. Chauliac,
Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Putrefying
Putrefy (v)
OED Putrefying n. The action of putrefy; putrefaction. Cf.
Putrefaction n. and Putrification n., in same sense.
?a1425 (OED)
These Juices are to be run through a bag, or rather through
brown-paper, and they may be boil'd up with Sugar or honey, or
be kept in bottles fill'd up within a small matter of the top; which
vacancy must be fill'd with Oyl of sweet Almonds, to hinder the
air from getting in and putrifying the Juice. Charas, Royal.
3 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Question
Base
< Anglo-Norman questioun, (...) < the stem of quaerere (to ask,
inquire) + –tiō (–ation)
Definition OED Question n. 4. †a. The action of questioning, interrogating,
or examining a person; the fact of being questioned. Formerly
also: talk, discourse. Obs.
Earliest attestation c1485 (1456) (OED)
Example
Also Pliny, Absyrtus, and Columella, affirm that a piece of the
root put into a hole made in the ear of a beast troubled with the
Cough, or that hath taken any poison, and drawn quite through
next day about that time, helpeth them: out of question it is a
special thing to rowel cattel withal. Culpeper, London.
Tokens 3
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Quenching
Quench (v)
OED Quenching n. 1. The action of quench; spec. the action of
cooling a heated object rapidly in cold water or oil.
a1300 (1250) (OED)
Marcor, sive ex ægritudine Senectus, sen ex Morbo Senium, is an
extreme diminution or Consumption of the body, following the
extinction (quenching) of the Innate (born and bred in us) heat,
much like to a tree, that's withered or dryed away by excess of
heat, or length of time. Harvey, Morbus.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Quickening
422

APPENDIX
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Quicken (v)
OED Quickening n. 1. a. The action of quicken (in various
senses); an instance of this.
c1400 (OED)
And therefore, he thinks it necessary, both for lessening the
quantity, and perhaps quickening the motion, to cause this
person to be let blood, and that in a considerable quantity, with
very great success. Cockburn, Continuation.
1 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Raising
Raise (v)
OED Raising n. 1. a. The action of raising something (in various
senses) or †of being raised (obs.). Freq. as the final element in
compounds.
a1400 (OED)
(...) and you may doe the like upon the Spheare it selfe by raising
the moouable Meridian aboue the Horizon at that altitude, so as
the 52. degr. may be euen with the Horizon. Blundevile,
Cosmmographie.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Rarefication
Base
Rarefy + –ation
Definition = Rarefaction (cf. Rarefaction n. 1.a. The state of being rarefied;
the process of becoming rarefied; reduction in the density of
something. Now chiefly with reference to the air or other gas).
Cf. also Rarefying n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1525 (EMEMT)
Example
Agaynst swellynge of the gomes wasshe them fyrst with vyneygre
and alome confect togyder/ but fyrst set ventoses w~ [^ORIG.
BLURRED^] raryfycacyon on the necke and sholders/ or sete
the ventoses in the hynder parte of the heed/ and skaryfye it .iii.
dayes/ (...). Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Rarefying
Rarefy (v)
OED Rarefying n. The action of rarefy; an instance of this;
rarefaction. Cf. Rarefaction n. 1. a. and Rarefication n., in same
sense.
1583 (OED)
And 'tis no less certain that this is to be perform'd according to
the different strength and constitutions of our Patients, and with
such Instruments as may not require a larger Evacuation by
rarefying and giving a new motion to the Blood. Cockburn,
Continuation.
423

APPENDIX
Tokens
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Raving
Base
Rave (v)
Definition OED Raving n1. 1. The action of rave.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
Euery one haue their owne particular signe, as if the braynes or
membraines thereof be hurt, the bloud commeth forth by the nose
and eares, with vometing of choller, auoyding of the excrements
vnawares, the face groweth vgly to the sight: the feeling and
vnderstanding dull, with convulsion and rauing within three or
foure dayes. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Reading
Read (v)
OED Reading n. 1. a. The action of perusing written or printed
matter; the practice of occupying oneself in this way. Also with
up and off.
eOE (OED)
(...) if I should set down all the severall definitions which are by
divers Authors set down, and insist in the refutation of such
definitions as offend against the conditions of a good definition, I
should rather seem to the judicious, to make an ostentation of
reading, and wit, then a care of the profiting of the hearers.
Read, Workes.
3 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Receiving
Receive (v)
OED Receiving n. The action of receive (in various senses);
reception, acceptance. Formerly also (in pl.): †that which is
received (obs.). Cf. also Reception n. 2. a., in same sense.
a1382 (OED)
Infection, by thaire receiuing euel qualities, diste~pring not only
y=e= hete, but the hole substa~ce therof, in putrifieng thesame,
and that generally ij. waies. Caius, Sweatyng.
3 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Reception
< Anglo-Norman and Middle French reception, (...) < recept–,
past participial stem of recipere (to receive) + –iō (–ation)
OED Reception n. 2. a. The action or fact of receiving or
acquiring something. Cf. Receiving n., in same sense.
1460 (OED)
This salin sap of the Vessels for being refused reception of the
parts, indues daily a greater [^p.33^] ferocity (fierceness,) and
424

APPENDIX
declares it self in a more hostile (like an Enemy) manner, by
insinuating (peircing) into the profundity (depth) of the parts, and
so drying, absorbing (sucking up,) and consuming the Radical
moisture and Innate heat, arrives to a Proper Consumption.
Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Reciprocation
Base
< classical Latin reciprocātiōn–, (...) < reciprocāt–, past
participial stem of reciprocāre (to reciprocate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Reciprocation n. 4. †a. Alternation; alternating change, esp.
from one thing to its opposite; an instance of this, a vicissitude.
Obs.
Earliest attestation 1586 (OED)
Example
(...) As if the heat of the fire had put the parts into a general, but
confus’d, agitation; to which ‘twas easie for the subsequent
Attrition or Reciprocation of Pressure to give a convenient
modification in a Body whose Texture disposes it to become
vigorously Electrica. Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Reconsolidation
Base
Re– + consolidation
Definition OED Reconsolidation n. A renewed consolidation.
Earliest attestation ?1541 (OED)
Example
And for these causes and reasons they do not reconsolydate with
true reconsolydation, after the desolution of their seperating, but
Nature [^f.7r^] strengthening alwaies possible things the best
that she may, will not leaue them thus dissolute, reioyneth and
knitteth them the best that she may, and engendereth a flesh (for
to holde the dissolued parts) that is called Porus sarcoides.
Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Recovering
Recover (v)
OED Recovering n. The action of recover (in various senses);
(also) an act of recovery.
1380 (OED)
(...) 'tis evident that the blood may be mightily chang'd by an
interruption of perspiration, and now in case of a fall, in less
than 24 hours, and that bleeding may actually dispose the blood
for becoming better, by promoting the secretions, [^p.15^] and
recovering its colour and strength in almost as short a time as
they were lost. Cockburn, Continuation.
1 (verbal gerund)
425

APPENDIX
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Recruiting
Recruit (v)
OED Recruiting n. The action of recruit, in various senses, esp.
the acquisition of new soldiers, employees, supporters, etc.
1644 (OED)
(...) and certainly none but such, as pretend to be meer Chymists,
would assert, that Potable Gold (aurum potabile, or Gold
Chymically reduced to a liquor, or a thin oyle, thereby being
render'd potable, or fit to be dranck) contains a vertue of
recruiting or augmenting Natures Essentials; (...). Harvey,
Morbus.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Recurring
Base
Recur (v)
Definition OED Recur v. n. Rare. Recurrence; something which recurs;
spec. a memory that comes back to the mind.
Earliest attestation 1577 (OED)
Example
And ‘tis plain, that they all endeavour to solve the Paenomena in
a Mechanical way, without recurring to Substantial Forms, and
inexplicable Qualities, or so much as taking notice of the
Hypostatical Principles of the Chymists. Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Reducing
Reduce (v)
OED Reducing n. The action of reduce (in various senses);
reduction.
?a1425 (OED)
He did not onely practice Chirurgery himself, but wrote sundry
Treatises concerning sundry operations of it: as of fractures, lib.
1. of joints, lib. 1. of reducing bones by instruments, lib. 1. of
ulcers, lib. 1. of fistulaes, lib 1. of wounds of the head, lib. 1. of
drawing out of the womb a dead child, lib. 1. All these are in the
sixt section of his works. Read, Workes.
3 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Reference
Refer (v)
OED Reference n. 2. a. Relation or regard to a thing or person.
Usu. with to.
1581 (OED)
(...) it may be made without destroying the Substantial or the
Essential Form of the body, and without sensibly adding,
diminishing, or altering any thing in reference to the Salt,
Sulphur and Mercury, which Chymists presume Iron and Steel, as
well as other mixt bodies, to be composed of. Boyle, Magnetism.
426

APPENDIX
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Reflection
< Middle French reflexion, (...) < classical Latin reflex–, past
participial stem of reflectere (to reflect) + –iō (–ation)
OED Reflection n. 1. a. The action of an object, surface, etc., in
reflecting light, heat, sound, or other form of radiation without
absorbing it; the fact or phenomenon of this; an instance of this.
Also fig. and in figurative contexts.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
(...) for certainly, a body that has so many pores in it as this is
discover’d to have, from each of which no light is reflected, must
necessarily look black, especially, when the pores are somewhat
bigger in proportion to the intervals then they are cut in the
Scheme, black being nothing else but a privation of Light, or a
want of reflection; (...). Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Reformation
Base
< Anglo-Norman reformacioun, (...) < reformāt–, past participial
stem of reformāre (to reform) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Reformation n1. †2. Reparation, redress. cf. reform v. Obs.
Earliest attestation 1405 (OED)
Example
One is very regeneration, which is very reformation of the
member in the selfe same substaunce, forme, qualytie and
quantitie: and other such accidents properly as it was afore the
corruption and alteration. Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Refutation
Base
< classical Latin refūtātiōn–, (...) < refūtāt–, past participial stem
of refūtāre (to refute) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Refutation n. 1. The action or an act of refuting or
disproving a statement, charge, theory, etc.; rebuttal.
Earliest attestation ?1536 (OED)
Example
Seeing so many as have written of Tumors have set down one
definition or another, if I should set down all the severall
definitions which are by divers Authors set down, and insist in the
refutation of such definitions as offend against the conditions of
a good definition, I should rather seem to the judicious, to make
an ostentation of reading, and wit, then a care of the profiting of
the hearers. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Regaining
Regain (v)
427

APPENDIX
Definition OED Regaining n. The action of regain (in various senses).
Earliest attestation 1548 (OED)
Example
As where there is loss of Substance, there he must assist Nature
with his Sarcoticks, for regaining what is lost: and where there is
Contusion, there he must endeavour the turning what is contused
into Pus or Matter, which must be performed before there can
possibly be any Reunion. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Regenaration
Base
< Anglo-Norman regeneraciun, (...) < classical Latin regenerāt–,
past participial stem of regenerāre (to regenarte) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Regeneration n. 3. Biol. and Med. The formation of new
tissue or cells; the natural replacement or repair of a lost or
damaged part, organ, etc.; the formation of a new individual from
part of an organism, often as a form of asexual reproduction.
Also: an instance of this.
Earliest attestation a1425 (OED)
Example
These things vnderstood and noted, I say first, that all sanguine
members may regenerate & knit, by very regeneration &
consolidation for continually ther engendreth blood inough w=t=
in y=e= body for to regenerate the substance of y=e= sanguine
me~ber lost, & for to reconsolidate & knit it again. Chauliac,
Qvydos.
Tokens 5
Nominalization Regulating
Base
Regulate (v)
Definition OED Regulating n. The action of regulate (in various senses); an
instance of this. Cf. also Regulation n. 1., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1604 (OED)
Example
To conclude, we see by this Instance, how much Experiments may
conduce to the regulating of Philosophical notions. Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Regulation
Base < post-classical Latin regulation–, regulatio (...), or
independently < regulate + –ation
Definition OED Regulation n. 1. The action or fact of regulating (in various
senses of regulate); an instance of this. Also: the state of being
regulated. Cf. Regulating n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1611 (OED)
Example
So that it is absolutely necessary for an Apothecary to know the
various Substances of Medicaments, to judge by that how he
ought to regulate their Infusion or Decoction; because that
Prescriptions never mention the regulation of the Decoction, nor
the degrees of fire, nor the length of time requisite for the
428

APPENDIX
Decoction, which is all left to the prudence of the Apothecary.
Charas, Royal.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Rejecting
Reject (v)
OED Rejecting n. The action or an act of rejecting someone or
something.
a1425 (OED)
(...) for then by reiecting the last two figures on the right hand,
as I haue said before, the first right Sine of these tables shal be
no more but 17. and by that account a very small quotient may be
found in these tables. Blundevile, Briefe.
1 (verbal gerund)
Relating
Relate (v)
OED Relating n. The action of relate (in various senses), relation.
Also: an instance of this. Cf. Relation n. 3. a., in same sense.
1580 (OED)
And [/1./] now being to illustrate that first part, and perform my
promise in the second, [^p.2^] I will confine my self to the
Method I proposed for relating these Observations, and pursue it
with all the Candidness and Integrity that can be expected,
without repeating any thing that has been mention'd already:
(...). Cockburn, Continuation.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Relation
Base
< Anglo-Norman relacioun, (...) < relāt–, past participial stem of
referre (to refer) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Relation n. 3. a. The position which one person holds with
regard to another by means of social or other mutual connections;
the connection of people by circumstances, feelings, etc. As a
count noun: a relationship. Cf. also Relating n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1485 (c1456) (OED)
Example (...) whole Families, sourcing (descended from tabefyed
(consumed and dryed away) progenitours (ancestors,) have all
made their Exits (dyed) through Consumptions; and in that order
and Sympathy of consanguinity (near Relation,) that I have
heard of six Brothers Parisians (Inhabitants of Paris) all
expired of Consumptions exactly six months one after another.
Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Relaxing
Relax (v)
429

APPENDIX
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
OED Relaxing n. The action of relax; an instance of this.
?a1425 (OED)
(...) whereas the fire does soften the Iron it self which is a metal
not an Ore agitating its parts, and making them the more flexible,
and by relaxing its pores, disposes it to be easily and plentifully
pervaded by the Magnetical steams of the Earth, from which it
may not improbably be thought to receive the verticity it
acquires; (...). Boyle, Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Remaining
Base
Remain (v)
Definition OED Remaining n. 2. a. The action or fact of remaining in a place
or state; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1496 (OED)
Example
The first is, if there bee two contrary diseases, whereoff the cure
of the one letteth the other (which is most doubtfull and
daungerous if it remayne) in such case as hee ought to beginne
his cure at the most daungerous, and where there is most peryll
in the remayninge of it, (...). Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Remission
Base
< Anglo-Norman remissiun, (...) < remiss–, past participial stem
of remittere (to remit) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Remission n. 5. a. Diminution or reduction of effect or
force; decrease or abatement of a condition or quality, such as
heat, cold, etc.; (also) an instance of this.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
For in Synochus there is no remission of heate: but in Synoches
ther is sensible remission in euery fytte. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Removing
Remove (v)
OED Removing n. 1. The action of removing or taking away;
removal of (something); an instance of this.
a1398 (OED)
So that a Bastard Consumption is curable with ease, because it's
no more than a superficial and growing malady, relating to the
consumed fleshy parts; but the other implyes a very difficult cure,
not by restoring the Spermatick parts, (which as we shewed in the
preceeding Chapter is impossible;) but only by stenting and
removing the corruption of the forementioned essentials.
Harvey, Morbus.
3 (all of them verbal gerunds)
430

APPENDIX
Nominalization Renting
Base
Rent (v)
Definition OED Renting n. The action of rending or tearing. Now chiefly in
conjunction with tearing.
Earliest attestation c1405 (c1385) (OED)
Example
Here shall be set the manner how to bring women to bed (as we
terme it) artificially and safely. Secondly, a falling of the small
guts into the cod by enlarging or renting of the production of the
Peritonæum, which we call a rupture. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Repairing
Base
Repair (v)
Definition OED Repairing n. 1. The action or process of repair; esp. the
restoration of something to good or proper condition. Also: the
result or an instance of this.
Earliest attestation a1387 (OED)
Example
The matter of things, which is used for repairing of the losses in
other parts, as the eye, the eare, arme, and legge, is no wayes of
the nature of the body. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Reparation
Base
< Anglo-Norman reparacioun, (...) < classical Latin reparāt–,
past participial stem of reparāre (to repair) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Reparation n. 1. a. An act of replacing or fixing parts of an
object or structure in order to keep it in repair, or of restoring an
object or structure to good condition by making repairs. Also: a
part that has been repaired. Also in extended use. Chiefly in pl.
Earliest attestation c 1376 (OED)
Example
In summa, unless it were imaginable to infuse the same animate
living Sperm into the substance and penetrails (depth) of the
parts, it's ridiculous to expect reparation from any other means;
which makes it apparent, that it's more easie to generate a new
man, than to repair one, that's partly consumed in his
substantials. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Repeating
Repeat (v)
OED Repeating n. The action of repeat (in various senses);
repetition; an instance of this. Cf. Repetition n. 1 5. a., in same
sense.
a1387 (OED)
(...) I will confine my self to the Method I proposed for relating
these Observations, and pursue it with all the Candidness and
Integrity that can be expected, without repeating any thing that
431

APPENDIX
Tokens
has been mention'd already: (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Repetition
Base
< Middle French repeticion, (...) < repetit–, past participial stem
of repetere (to repeat) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Repetition n. 1 5. a. The action or fact of doing something
again; renewal or recurrence of an action or event; repeated use,
application, or appearance. Also: an instance of this. Cf. also
Repeating n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation ?1550 (OED)
Example
But Mixtures differ in this from Potions, that their use is more
frequent and longer, and because there is not so much drank of
them at a time; for being compos'd of powerful Medicines, they
operate in less quantity, and work those effects by repetition,
which could hardly be done at once taking. Charas, Royal.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Repletion
Base
Replete (v)
Definition OED Repletion n. 2. The action of eating or drinking to satiation
or excess; the state or condition of being full of food or drink.
Formerly also: †a plethoric condition or habit (obs.). Also fig.
Earliest attestation c1405 (c1390) (OED)
Example
[}Pet.}] What is the cause of spasme? [}Ioh.}] Repletion,
evacuation, and dolour. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Reprehending
Base
Reprehend (v)
Definition The action of reproving someone. Cf. also Reprehension n. 1. a.,
in same sense.
Cf. Reprehend v. 1. a. trans. To rebuke, reprimand, or reprove (a
person).
Earliest attestation c1450 (OED)
Example
Besides reprehending of others doth not so much instruct the
hearers in the knowledge of the truth, as sheweth that, which is
not to be learned, but shunned. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Reprehension
Base < Anglo-Norman and Middle French reprehension (...) <
reprehens–, past participial stem of reprehendere (to reprehend)
+ –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Reprehension n. 1. a. The action of reprehending a person
or thing; reproof, censure. Cf. Reprehending n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1413 (c1385) (OED)
432

APPENDIX
Example
Nevertheless in reprehension I will use them respectively, by
reason of reverence, which is due to Antiquity. Besides this,
nothing can be both invented and perfected at once. Read,
Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Repugning
Repugn (v)
OED Repugning n. Now rare. Opposition, resistance; an instance
of this.
1395 (OED)
For nature repugnynge, all thynges are frustrat. But yf that
nature be inclyned vnto the best thynges, the knoweledge of the
arte wyll easely folowe, whyche it behoueth to get throughe
prudence, so that from the chyldehoode he be well trayned vppe,
(...). Gale, Institution.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Residence
Base
< Anglo-Norman and Middle French residence, (...) < classical
Latin resident–, residēns, present participle of residēre (to reside)
+ –ia (–ia)
Definition The fact of residing or being resident; also in extended use.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
(...) I rather suspect the quite contrary, that it was at first certain
great Trees of Fir or Pine, which by some Earthquake, or other
casualty, came to be buried under the Earth, and was there, after
a long time’s residence according to the several natures of the
encompassing adjacent parts either rotted and turn’d into a kind
of Clay, petrify’d and turn’d into a kind of Stone, or else had its
pores fill’d with certain Mineral juices, (...). Hooke,
Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Resistance
< Anglo-Norman and Middle French resistance (...) < classical
Latin resistent–, resistēns, present participle of resistere (to
resist) + –ia (–ia)
OED Resistance n. 1. a. The action of resisting, opposing, or
withstanding someone or something; an instance of this.
Sometimes with to, †of.
1417 (OED)
(...) for the blood is so confin'd within its own vessels, and its
parts so crowded one upon another, [^p.20^] that there is not a
sufficient secretion of its fine and subtle parts, but ev'n by this
great quantity the distractile blood-pipes being very much
distended, compress the nerves over all the body, and hinder the
433

APPENDIX
conveyance of the animal spirits into, and thro these vessels,
according to their force of going outwards, and the resistence of
these in the different parts; (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Resolution
Base
< Anglo-Norman and Middle French resolucion, (...) < resolūt–,
past participial stem of resolvere (to resolve) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Resolution n. 1 1. a. The reduction or separation of an object
or substance into constituent parts or elements; decomposition,
disintegration, dispersion. Formerly also: †a material result of
this, spec. a smoke or vapour (obs.). Now rare. Cf. also
Resolving n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
Note secondly that there are divers concoctions in our body, in
which new mixtures are made, nor is there a resolution as far as
the first matter in every mutation or corruption, but when any
thing corrupteth, only the form, and the determinate temper of
that form, or the subjects with its accidents perish, and others
that are subordinate remain, some with their accidents: (...).
Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 7
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Resolving
Resolve (v)
OED Resolving n. The action of resolve (in various senses); an
instance of this. Cf. also Resolution n. 1 1. a., in same sense.
a1398 (OED)
These I putte, for that the tyme of the yere hote, makethe moche
to the malice of the disease, in openynge the pores of the body,
lettynge in the euill aier, resoluynge the humores and makynge
them flowable, and disposing therfore the spirites accordyngly,
besyde, that (as I shewed in the first cause of this pestilente
sweate) it stirreth and draweth out of the erthe euill exhalations
and mistes, to thinfection of the aier and displeasure of vs.
Caius, Sweatyng.
1 (verbal gerund)
Respiration
< Middle French respiration (...) < respīrāt–, past participial stem
of respīrāre (to respire) + –iō (–ation)
OED Respiration n. 1. a. The action of taking air into the lungs
(or water into the gills) and expelling it again, esp. as a
continuous physiological process; breathing; (with distinguishing
word) breathing of a particular kind. In early use also:
†exhalation or inhalation (obs.). Cf. also Respiring n., in same
sense.
434

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation ?1425 (OED)
Example
[}Pet.}] Which are the signes of spasme? [}Ioh.}] Difficile
moouing of the body, tention of the necke, contraction of the
lippes, astriction of the iawes, peruertion of the eyes and face,
which, if it take the course to the parts appoynted for
respiration, it is lamentable, and the sicke shall soone dye, that
which is confirmed, is incurable. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Respiring
Respire (v)
The action of breathing. Cf. also Respiration n. 1. a., in same
sense.
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens 1
Cf. Respire v. 1. a. intr. Of a person or animal: to take air into the
lungs and expel it again, esp. as a continuous physiological
process; to breathe, to inhale and exhale; (formerly also) †to
exhale (obs.); also fig. Also more widely: (of a plant, animal, etc.)
to take in and give out air; (of a fish) to take in and give out water
(or its dissolved gases).
?a1425 (OED)
If the Liuer be hurt, there commeth out abundance of blood
[/13./] at the wound, the flanckes retyre towards the backe, the
colour like death, the eyes sincke in the head, want of rest, the
vrine is bloudy, the excrements purulent, the sicke commeth to lye
on the belly, the dolour is pricking, extending to the breastbone
and ribbes, in respyring he draweth in his shoulders, and
vomiteth choller. Lowe, Art.
Nominalization Resting
Base
Rest (v)
Definition OED Resting n1. 1. a. Rest, repose, inactivity; the taking of one's
rest.
Earliest attestation OE (OED)
Example
Through the other they sende y=e= vryn~ water to the bladder/
and the kydnes be ioyned to the backe & be fat rou~de aboute
Behynde the kydnes by the spo~dyles be the lymmes or nether
rydge bones ther on restrynge as on a quylt/ or matrys.
Braunschweig, Handy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Restauration
< Anglo-Norman restauracione, (...) < restaurāt–, past participial
stem of restaurāre (to restore) + –iō (–ation)
OED Restauration n1. Now rare. 1. a. The restoration of
something material to its proper or original condition; esp. (a)
435

APPENDIX
restoration of the body to health; (also) a restorative, a cure; (b)
the renovation of a building or buildings; (also) a repair.
Earliest attestation a1393 (OED)
Example
And therfore the solution of the continuite of the same (as
Hypocrates sayeth) receaueth not restauration, after the fyrste
intencion of restorynge and consoundynge of membres. De Vigo,
Excellent.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Restoration
Base Partly an alteration (after restore) of restauration, and partly <
restore + –ation
Definition OED Restoration n. 2. a. gen. The action of restoring a thing to a
former state or position; the fact of being restored or reinstated.
Also with to. Cf. also Restoring n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1510 (OED)
Example
And perticularly Chyrurgerie is deuided in v. That is to say, to
worke in woundes, in Apostumes, in sores, and in restorations,
and in other things belonging to handie operation. Chauliac,
Qvydos.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Restoring
Restore (v)
OED Restoring n. The action of restore; restoration; an instance
of this. Cf. also Restoration n. 2. a., in same sense.
a1382 (OED)
And therfore the solution of the continuite of the same (as
Hypocrates sayeth) receaueth not restauration, after the fyrste
intencion of restorynge and consoundynge of membres. De Vigo,
Excellent.
3 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Restitution
Base
< Anglo-Norman restitucione, (...) < restitūt–, past participial
stem of restituere (to restitute) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Restitution n. 1. a. The action or an act of restoring a thing
or institution to its original state or form; (Theol.) God's final
restoration of the world to its original perfection (esp. in
restitution of all things, with reference to Acts 3:21)
Earliest attestation c1384 (OED)
Example
(...) there seems no probable reason to the contrary, but that we
might as readily render the true reason for all their Phaenomena,
as namely, what were the cause of the springiness, and
thoughness of some both-3 as to their flexibility and restitution.
Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
436

APPENDIX
Nominalization Restraining
Base
Restrain (v)
Definition OED Restraining n. The action of restrain (in various senses); an
instance of this.
Earliest attestation c1390 (OED)
Example
You are then, after you have made a turn upon the Wound with
both ends of the Rowler, to go up with the one, and down with the
other, and take so many turns about the Part as may be requisite
for the restraining the Flux of bloud, or, according to the
Season of the year, to defend it from cold, and yet not keep the
Wound too hot, for that may weaken the Part. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Retaining
Retain (v)
OED Retaining n. The action of retain (in various senses);
retention; an instance of this. Cf. Retention n. 1. a., in same sense.
c1460 (OED)
The third is, in retaining the Lips so brought together, that they
may by Consolidation be restored to their former figure.
Wiseman, Wounds.
3 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Retention
Base
< Anglo-Norman retencioun, (...) < retent–, past participial stem
of retinēre (to retain) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Retention n. 1. a. The fact or action of retaining within the
body a substance (esp. urine or, in early use, menstrual blood)
which would normally be eliminated; failure to eliminate a
substance from the body or an organ; an instance of this. Cf. also
Retaining n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation a1400 (OED)
Example
It hath the nature of Feuerfue in all things, and it is good for
women to sit in the decoction thereof to prouoke sweate, and to
drawe downe the termes, and auoide the paine that commeth by
retention of them. Langham, Garden.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Retraction
< classical Latin retractiōn-, (...) < retract–, past participial stem
of retrahere (to retract) + –iō (–ation)
OED Retraction n. 3. b. gen. The action of drawing or pulling
something back or in; the fact or condition of being drawn in or
contracted; power to pull something back.
1528 (OED)
And according to this Hypothesis, the Amber, or other Electrick,
437

APPENDIX
bieng chaf’d or heated, is made to emit certain Rayes or Files of
unctuous Steams, which, when they come to be a little cool’d by
the external air, are somewhat condens’d, and having lost of
their former agitation, shrink back to the body whence they
sallied out, and carry with them those light bodies, that their
further ends happen to adhere to, at the time of their Retraction:
(...). Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Reunion
Base
Re– + unition
Definition OED Reunion n. The action of reuniting; reunion; an instance of
this. Cf. Reunition n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1576 (OED)
Example
As where there is loss of Substance, there he must assist Nature
with his Sarcoticks, for regaining what is lost: and where there is
Contusion, there he must endeavour the turning what is contused
into Pus or Matter, which must be performed before there can
possibly be any Reunion. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Reunition
Base
Re– + unition
Definition OED Reunition n. The action of reuniting; reunion; an instance of
this. Cf. Reunion n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1615 (OED)
Example
CONTAINING I. Chirurgicall Lectures of Tumors and Ulcers. II.
A Treatise of the first part of Chirurgery, which teacheth the reunition
of the parts of the body dis-joynted; and the methodicall
Doctrine of Wounds. Read, Workes.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Revulsion
Base
< Middle French revulsion (...) < revuls–, past participial stem of
revellere (to revel) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Revulsion n. 1. Med. The action or process of withdrawing
humours, blood, etc., from one part of the body by means of a
treatment applied to another part; counterirritation. Also: an
instance of this. Now hist.
Earliest attestation ?1541 (OED)
Example
I say in making a revulsion, or by determining the motion of the
Blood, more towards one part than another, which is to be
practiced upon a thousand occasions; the quantity to be let, if
other circumstances are observed, very often exceeds not six or
eight Ounces in the strongest constitutions; (...). Cockburn,
Continuation.
Tokens 3
438

APPENDIX
Nominalization Riding
Base
Ride (v)
Definition OED Riding n. 1 2. a. The action of riding in procession on
horseback, esp. in commemoration of a festive or official
occasion; an instance of this, a formal or ceremonial procession.
Now chiefly hist.
Earliest attestation c1300 (OED)
Example
[}Vnguentum de lythargirio.}] Rec. Lithargyri. ij. vnces.
Cerus+e halfe a vnce. Aceti j. vnce. Olei Rosati quantum sufficit.
Make these in an vnguent wyth a softe fyre. It cureth vlcers and
excoriations made through rydynge, straytnes of the shoe, or
otherwyse happenyng. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Riping
Base
Ripen (v)
Definition OED Riping n. 1 Now rare. The process or fact of becoming ripe,
ripening; (also) †ripeness (obs.).
Earliest attestation eOE (OED)
Example
And this I take to be the cause why certaine things will not growe
on the earth, but in other natures: and why graffes yeld more
pleasant fruit then carnels, by reason the stocke giueth the crude
and rawe nourishment of the earth a farther ripening, and euen
as it were chewing it vnto the sion graffed, so to conclude this
answere; (...). Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Rising
Base
Rise (v)
Definition OED Rising n. 2. c. gen. The action of moving to a higher
position; upward movement or course; ascent; an instance of this.
Also in extended use.
Earliest attestation a1398 (OED)
Example
Solsequie shuld be gathered the xvi. day of Auguste, before the
Son rising without Iron. Partridge, Treasurie.
Tokens 7
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Roasting
Roast (v)
OED Roasting n. 1. The action of roast (in various senses); an
instance of this.
c1350 (OED)
I therefore go furth with my diete, wherin my counseill is, that the
meates be helthfull, and holsomly kylled, swetly saued, and wel
prepared in rostyng, sethyng, baking, & so furth. Caius,
Sweating.
439

APPENDIX
Tokens 3
Nominalization Rolling
Base
Roll (v)
Definition
OED Rolling n. 1 5. b. The action of turning or wrapping something in
on itself; a turning, a folding. Also with in.
Earliest attestation 1601 (OED)
Example
For the effecting of this, our famous Masters have left us two
principal means, Fasciæ and Suturæ, Rowling and Stitching: to
which some, nay most of them, added Fibulas, or Clasps.
Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Rotting
Base
Rot (v)
Definition OED Rotting n. 1. a. The action or process of rot (in various
senses); an instance of this. Also (in pl.): rotten or putrid matter.
Earliest attestation OE (OED)
Example
[}Agaynst rednesse. N}] Agaynst reednesse/ and agaynst
rottynge of the pryue membres Medle Aloe w~ vyneygre/ and it
wyll helpe. Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Rubbing
Rub (v)
OED Rubbing n. 1. a. The action of rub (in various senses); an
instance of this.
a1398 (OED)
(...) first to rub the feete, the legges, then the thighes, the hips, the
buttockes, ascending to the shoulders and necke with soft and
long rubbings, euen vntill the partes begin to wax red. Bailey,
Preseruation.
12 (3 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Rumbling
Base
Rumble (v)
Definition OED Rumbling n. 1. a. The action of making a rumbling sound; a
rumble. Freq. in figurative contexts.
Earliest attestation c1405 (c1395) (OED)
Example
[}Auetum.}] This herbe Auetum that men call Auete/ otherwyse
Dyll. This herbe hathe leues lyke to Fenell/ but the sede is
somdele brode as Orage sede is. The vertue of this herbe is thus.
It wyll make a ma~ pysse. Also it swageth romblynge in a
mannes wombe and wycked wyndes in the wombe. Anonymous,
Newe.
Tokens 1
440

APPENDIX
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Running
Run (v)
OED Running n. 1. a. The action of run; an instance of this. Also
in extended use.
OE (OED)
[}A present Remedy for the Running of the Reins, or pain or
Weakness in the Back.}]. Woolley, Supplement.
6 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Rupture
Base
< Anglo-Norman and Middle French rupture (...) < rupt–, past
participial stem of rumpere (to break) + –ūra (–ure)
Definition OED Rupture n. 3. The action or an act of breaking, tearing, or
bursting; the fact of being broken, torn, or burst. a. With
reference to a material thing.
Earliest attestation ?a1425 (OED)
Example
Secondly, a falling of the small guts into the cod by enlarging or
renting of the production of the Peritonæum, which we call a
rupture. Read, Workes.
Tokens 11
Nominalization Sailing
Base
Sail (v)
Definition OED Sailing n. 1 1. a. The action of travelling on water in a ship or
other vessel which is propelled by means of sails; the action or
method of directing the course of such a vessel. In modern use
also in wider application: the action of travelling in or of
directing the course of a ship or vessel of any kind.
Earliest attestation a900 (OED)
Example
But in sayling by any other rombe, that circle which is imagined
to passe from the true East pointe right ouer your head unto the
true West point, or which crosseth your Meridian in the Zenith
point with right Sphericall angles, is most properly called the
uerticall circle, (...). Blundevile, Cosmographie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Satisfaction
Base < French satisfaction (...) < Latin satisfactiōn-em, n. of action <
satisfacĕre (to satisfy)
Definition OED Satisfaction n. 6. a. ‘Release from suspense, uncertainty, or
uneasiness’ (Johnson); information that answers a person's
demands or needs; removal of doubt, conviction. Phrase, to (a
person's) satisfaction. Cf. also Satisfying n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1590 (OED)
Example
HAving for a long time bin much dissatisfi'd with the common
Methods of Chirurgeons in the Cure of Recent Wounds; and
almost every day observing the Inconveniences that attended
441

APPENDIX
those People who had occasion to make use of them; for my own
satisfaction, and the good of Mankind, I took into consideration,
whether their Methods were agreeable to Reason, and the Subject
upon which they wrought. Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Satisfying
Satisfy (v)
OED Satisfying n. The action of the verb satisfy in various
senses. Cf. also Satisfaction n. 6. a., in same sense.
1560 (OED)
Lastly, the diminution of parts must be latent (hidden,) not caused
by an overlabouring, or want of sleep, or by being over liberal in
satisfying Womens impertinences, the causes whereof as they are
externally obvious, so they imply no Consumption; (...). Harvey,
Morbus.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Saying
Say (v)
OED Saying n. 1 1. a. The action of say; utterance, enunciation;
recitation. †saying-again = again-saying.
a1300 (OED)
But Rudius decides the controversie in saying, they are properly
poysons which are such of their own nature, and not such as by
conception become enemies to our bodies. And true poyson is
only that which is bred without the body. Sennert, Practical.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Scalding
Base
Scald (v)
Definition OED Scalding n. 2 1. a. The act of burning with hot fluid or steam.
Also, †a scalded part.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
In Burnings, Scaldings, &c. the Fingers would many times grow
together, the Chin would grow to the Breast, the Arms to the
Sides, were they not this way hindred. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 9
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Scarification
< late Latin scarīficātiōn-em, n. of action < scarīficāre (to
scarify)
OED Scarification n. 1. The action of scarifying; an instance of
this.
c1400 (OED)
So that for the practicke parte, I do not se what is more to be
desired: excepte it ware some treatise, in whiche might be
442

APPENDIX
comprehended the arte of phlebotomie or lettynge of blode, and
also of scarification, and boxinge whiche I hope (God
grauntynge hym lyfe) he wyll hereafter fit out. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Scattering
Base
Scatter (v)
Definition OED Scattering n. 1. a. The action of the verb scatter, in various
senses; also, an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1382 (OED)
Example
[}Question.}] What diuers operations exerciseth the Chyrurgion.
[}Aunswere.}] In three diuers operations. That is to say, dissolue
the thing continued, knit y=e= thing seperated, and put out the
superfluous thing. To dissolue y=e= thing co~tinued, is by
incising, cutting, or scaturusing. Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Scoffing
Scoff (v)
OED Scoffing n. 1 The action of scoff; †a scoff.
1377 (OED)
(...) and moreouver stood in the gap of my defence against other
such, which thn were also sore troubled with the Fluxe of a fowle
mouth, & bled me at their pleasure for their common Table talke,
with scoffing, fleering, and deriding aboue manners and
modesty. Clowes, Artificiall.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Scouring
Base
Scour (v)
Definition OED Scouring n. 2 4. b. The state or fact of being purged; a
looseness or flux of the bowels, diarrhœa; esp. as a disease in
livestock .
Earliest attestation 1575 (OED)
Example
[}Bloody-Flux, Scowring, or Gonoria.}] TAke the seed of white
Poppy, Mallowes, Quinces, and Pursleyne all powdred, take
also Mirtell, Gum Arabick, Gum Dragant, Pine kernells, Sugar,
Lycorice, Penedes, Psiloum musilage, of Almonds ana iiij +o, of
fine Bole sanguis Draconis, red Roses, Spodij, Myrrhe ana i +Q,
mix them with Hydromell, and make it in Trochis; (...). Wood,
Alphabetical.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Scripture
< Latin scrīptūra writing, < scrīpt–, scrībĕre (to write)
OED Scripture n. 2. The action or art of writing; handwriting,
penmanship. Also concr. written characters. Now rare.
443

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation 1426-7 (OED)
Example
The fourthe, Idololatria, Idolatrie, not after the trade and veine of
scripture (wherein he was also very well exercised) but
conformable to scripture and after the ciuile and humane
learnyng, declaryng them to worshippe Mars, that warre, or
fight: Venus, that lyue incontinently: (...). Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Secretion
Base
< French sécrétion, < Latin sēcrētiōn-em, n. of action < sēcernĕre
(to separate, secrete)
Definition OED Secretion n. 1. Physiol. In an animal or vegetable body, the
action of a gland or some analogous organ in extracting certain
matters from the blood or sap and elaborating from them a
particular substance, either to fulfil some function within the
body or to undergo excretion as waste.
Earliest attestation 1646 (OED)
Example
(...) there may be a quantity evacuated equal to these steams, by
the secretions that [^p.3^] are now begun: (...). Cockburn,
Continuation.
Tokens 6
Nominalization Section
Base
< French section, or directly < Latin sectiōn-em, < sect–,
participial stem of secāre (to cut)
Definition OED Section n. a. The action, or an act, of cutting or dividing.
Now rare exc. with reference to surgery or anatomical
operations.
Earliest attestation 1559 (OED)
Example
Nothwithstanding, if all these chaunce to faile, then haue
recourse to that which followeth in the Fourth Intention, which is
performed by Section or Incision, when wee finde the matter
before rehearsed, vnfit to yeeld eyther-4 to Resolution or
Suppuration, &c. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Seeing
See (v)
OED Seeing n. 1. a. The action (rarely an act) of see.
c1450 (OED)
The heade was not set in the hyghest parte of the bodye for the
nastrelles, nor for the brayne nor for any other sens, but cheifly
for the eyes as Auicenna sayth, and for the vertue of seynge. De
Vigo, Excellent.
5 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Seeking
444

APPENDIX
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Seek (v)
OED Seeking n. a. The action of seek in its various senses.
1303 (OED)
Enter with the quotinent into the body of the tables, and leaue not
seeking amongst the squares of the Sines, vntill you haue found
out the iust number of the quotient if it be there (...). Blundevile,
Briefe.
4 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Seething
Base
Seethe (v)
Definition OED Seething n. †2. a. The action or an act of keeping a liquid
boiling hot, of cooking in boiling water, or of submitting
anything to the action of boiling liquid.
Earliest attestation a1387 (OED)
Example
And you muste generally learne, that in makyng conserues,
Frutes and Roots are made with fyre and seething: but Flowres
are made w=t=out fyre or seething. Partridge, Treasurie.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Separating
Separate (v)
OED Separating n. The action of separate. Cf. also Separation
n., 1. a., in same sense.
a1557 (OED)
Sometimes it is so inwardly united, and so profoundly conceal'd
among the other substances, as not to be perceiv'd by the
ordinary senses, nor be distinguish'd but by separating it by the
means of fire. Charas, Royal.
4 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Separation
Base < Old French separation, < Latin sēparātiōn-em, n. of action <
sēparāre (to separate)
Definition OED Separation n. 1. a. The action of separating or parting, of
setting or keeping apart; the state of being separated or parted.
†to make separation, to make a severance or division. Cf.
Separating n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1413 (OED)
Example
[}Balmes.}] +R. Partem humani corporis incisam. Put it into a
large bellied vessell of glas (that which the Chymists call
Ampulla) digest it therein for a moneths space, Then make
separation thereof s.a. Take of the lycour thereof lbj. Theriacæ
opt, +o vj. commixe and macerate them s.a. for xxx. dayes space,
(...). Bonham, Chyrvrgians.
Tokens 6
445

APPENDIX
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Setting
Set (v)
OED Setting n1. 1. a. The action of the verb set in various
transitive senses; putting, placing, planting, etc. Also, the fact of
being set.
1398 (OED)
Yet I say, I must confess that I may seem to be wanting in setting
a standard, or certain mark, which may direct our Surgeons in
the difficult stages of these Evacuations, with as much certainty
as a fix'd mark in the Heavens directs our Sailers in their
Voyages. Cockburn, Continuation.
5 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Settling
Base
Settle (v)
Definition OED Settling n. 1. a. The action of fixing, establishing, arranging
permanently, adjusting, deciding, etc.
Earliest attestation 1553 (OED)
Example
(...) and reason turned to a vaine feare, or plaine desperation, the
braine being altered in his complexion, and as it were
transported into an instrument of an other make then it was first
ordained: these two according to the diuersitie of setling, do
ingender diuersitie of passions, & according therunto do
diuerslie affect the vnderstanding, & do alter the affection,
especially if by corruption of nature or euill custome of manners
the partie be ouer passionate. Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Sewing
Base
Sew (v)
Definition OED Sewing n. 1 1. a. The action of sew; the use of a needle and
thread; the uniting of pieces of material (etc.) by this means.
Earliest attestation c1290 (OED)
Example
For it is very harde for him, y=t= is ignoraunt in Anatomie to
worke co~mely and decently, in mans bodye, as in cuttynge,
sewynge, burnynge, or applyeng cauteries actuall or potentiall
and semblable thynges. De Vigo, Excellent.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Shaking
Shake (v)
OED Shaking n. 1. a. The action of shake, in any sense.
c1380 (OED)
ALysander the seedes drunke alone, or with honied water
prouoke termes, dissolueth winde and griping in the body, it
warmeth the members that are taken with shaking, and is good
for the strangurie. Langham, Garden.
446

APPENDIX
Tokens 4
Nominalization Shedding
Base
Shed (v)
Definition OED Shedding n. 1 a. Effusion, pouring out; esp. of blood, tears,
†secretions.
Earliest attestation ?c1200 (OED)
Example
[}Agaynst shedyng of nature. A}] Agaynst sekenesse named
gomorrea y~ is wha~ y=e= nature of a man yssueth agaynst his
wyll. Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Showing
Base
Show (v)
Definition OED Showing n. 1. a. The action of displaying, exhibiting,
manifesting, etc.; the fact of being displayed, etc.; with pl., an
instance of this.
Earliest attestation c950 (OED)
Example
Heerein I doe note the saying of Lamfranke, whereas he sayth, Al
thinges that man would knowe, may be knowen by one of these
three thinges: That is to say, by his name, or by his working, or
els by his very being and shewing of his owne properties. Vicary,
Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Shrinking
Base
Shrink (v)
Definition OED Shrinking n. 1. a. Contraction and reduction in size or
volume through the action of heat, cold, or moisture; the drawing
up or withering (of sinews, etc.).
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
Centaurij majoris, Of Centaury the greater, the roots help such
as are bursten, such as spit blood, shrinking of sinnews,
shortness of wind, coughs, convulsions, cramps. Culpeper,
London.
Tokens 6
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Shunning
Shun (v)
OED Shunning n. The action of shun.
1549 (OED)
The seconde, by doynge in all pointes the contrary thereto. Take
awaye the causes we maye, in damnyng diches, auoidynge
cario~s, lettyng in open aire, shunning suche euil mistes as
before I spake of, not openynge or sturrynge euill brethynge
places, landynge muddy and rotte~ groundes, burieng dede
bodyes, (...). Caius, Sweatyng.
447

APPENDIX
Tokens
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Shutting
Base
Shut (v)
Definition OED Shutting n. 1. a. In trans. senses of the verb; closing,
fastening up, drawing together, etc.
Earliest attestation ?a1366 (OED)
Example
And Haly Abbas sayth, there be .xij. Muscles that moue the
nether Iawe, some of them in opening, and other some in closing
or shutting, passing vnder the bones of y=e= temples, (...).
Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Sinking
Base
Sink (v)
Definition OED Sinking n. 1. The action of the vb. in intransitive senses:
b. In various fig. or transf. uses. Also with in.
Earliest attestation c1440 (OED)
Example
yet they, for the most part, can never bear so large a bleeding,
even as those fat people we just now spoke of, and very seldom
can endure the loss of ten or twelve ounces of blood without a
sinking in their heart (as they [^p.16^] call it) dimness of sight,
or as it is expressively called by the French, une Defaillance des
esprits; (...). Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Sitting
Base
Sit (v)
Definition OED Sitting n. 1. a. The action of sit, in various senses; the fact
of being seated; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation ?c1225 (?c1200) (OED)
Example
First saith he choose some light place, & let the Patient lye on his
bed, for in sitting he will soone sound: therfore binde his legges
together, and after binde them to the Bedside, and let one holde
his head fast, (...). Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Situation
< French situation (...), or < medieval Latin situātio, n. of action
< situāre, < Latin situs (site)
OED Situation n. †5. a. The action of situating. Obs.
1589 (OED)
And as the Instrument doth suffer diseases of number, of
magnitude, of situation and conformation, (I say) conformation
in the figure, Meatus, and Asperitie, for it is a disease in
magnitude, as often as the eyes are moregreat, and more
standing forth then they should, for the lesser eyes are best,
448

APPENDIX
because the visible vertue being coacted and drawne togither is
greater then when it is dispersed, and is least subiect to outward
iniuries: (...). Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Smelling
Smell (v)
OED Smelling n. 1. b. The act or fact of smelling. Also with out.
1509 (OED)
Moreover nothig we find taints sound Lungs sooner, than
inspiring (drawing in) the breath of putrid (stinking and
beginning to rot) ulcer'd, or Consumptive Lungs; many having
fallen into Consumptions only by smelling the breath or spittle of
Consumptives, others by drinking after them; and what is more,
by wearing the Cloaths of Consumptives, though two years after
they were left off. Harvey, Morbus.
8 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Sneezing
Base
Sneeze (v)
Definition OED Sneezing n. 1. a. The action of the verb; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1495 (OED)
Example
The root of white Hellebore, or Sneezwort, being grated and
snuffed up the nose, causeth Sneezing, kills Rats, and Mice being
mixed with their meat: it is but a scurvy, churlish medicine being
taken inwardly, and therefore better let alone than used; and yet
Dr. Bright co~mends it for such as are mad through Melancholly.
Culpeper, London.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Softening
Base
Soften (v)
Definition OED Softening n. 1. a. The action or process of making or
becoming soft, in various senses of the adj. Also with a and pl.
Earliest attestation 1568 (OED)
Example
It ought not to be put in ony thynge that is actually hote/ for it
wolde consume to smoke and the smoke noyth the~ than ben
nyght it/ for it causeth palsy and softnynge of synewes.
Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Solution
< Old French solucion, –tion (...) < participial stem of solvĕre (to
solve)
OED Solution n. 5. a. The action of dissolving, or changing from
a solid or gaseous to a liquid state, by means of a fluid or solvent;
the state or fact of being so dissolved.
449

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation 1390 (OED)
Example
I make a Solution of my Pouder in Water, for want of which in
Urin: and as soon as conveniently I can, the sooner the better, I
either squeeze, or with a Syringe, if the Wound be deep, inject
into the Wound som of the said Solution I then close the Lips of
the Wound together, which if wide and large, I stitch up.
Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 20
Nominalization Speaking
Base
Speak (v)
Definition OED Speaking n. 1. a. The action of the verb; talking,
discoursing.
Earliest attestation 1303 (OED)
Example
Twelfth lacke of slepe and quietnes, causeth the sycke to shewe a
francye countenance, speakyng, groning grieuously in hys
slumber. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Speculation
Base < late Latin speculātiōn-em, noun of action < speculārī (to
speculate)
Definition OED Speculation n. 4. a. The contemplation, consideration, or
profound study of some subject.
Earliest attestation c1374 (OED)
Example
Finding you thus conducted through a smooth way, we'll instantly
open a door, to give you passage to a more abstruse (hidden,) but
pleasant speculation, viz. the manner of a proper and improper
Consumption, together with the reason of the incurability of the
former, and facil (easie) cure of the other. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Spitting
Base
Spit (v)
Definition OED Spitting n. 2 1. a. The action of ejecting saliva from the
mouth; expectoration.
Earliest attestation 13.. (OED)
Example
(...) if they be boyled with it, it is excellent for all wounds both
nternal and external, for spitting of blood, ruptures or
iburstness, pains in the back, it strengthens the reins, it stops the
terms, and helpeth the hemorrhoyds. Culpeper, London.
Tokens 7
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Springing
Spring (v)
The action or fact of originating or proceeding.
450

APPENDIX
Cf. Spring v. 9. Of conditions, qualities, etc.: To take rise, to
originate or proceed.
Earliest attestation 1548 (PPCEME)
Example
And thus you maye perceyue the springing of them, as thus: of
Durameter springeth Sclirotica nad Cornua: of Piameter
springeth Secondina and Vnia: (...). Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 3
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Stagnating
Stagnate (v)
The action of becoming stagnant.
Cf. Stagnate v. 1. intr. To be or become stagnant; to cease to
flow, to stand without motion or current.
Earliest attestation 1666 (EMEMT)
Example
(...) whereby it happeneth, the blood is not sufficiently defæcated,
or clarifyed, but remains muddy, and ditchy, which stagnating
(standing still without motion) thus for a while turns saltish and
acrimonious, offending and perverting the Stomach, Spleen, and
Liver in their Offices, a necessary precedent of vitiated (foul)
blood, which being rejected by the parts, the body must needs fall
away for want of better nutriture (nourishment.). Harvey,
Morbus.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Staining
Base
Stain (v)
Definition OED Staining n. a. The action of the verb stain, in various
senses; also concr. a result of this action.
Earliest attestation a1382 (OED)
Example
Then I perceiued shee had taken th wrong thing, & it was the
more apparant by reason of the blacknes of her teeth, & the
staines of her cloathes wherwith she had often wiped her mouth:
and also by staining of th Basons and the dishes, wherin she had
so often times vomitted. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Standing
Stand (v)
OED Standing n. 1. a. The action of stand, in various senses; an
instance of this.
a1382 (OED)
Thirdly, the Gout is a greife in some by way of distemperature,
and this doth fall out as occasion is offered, as some by standing
long in cold water, may have the Gout by reason of a cold
distemperature, which is wrought into the part by the cold water.
Holland, Gutta.
451

APPENDIX
Tokens
4 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Starving
Base
Starve (v)
Definition OED Starving n. 3. The action of depriving of food.
Earliest attestation 1665 (OED)
Example
I pray you cal you not death death, wherof soeuer the cause
commeth, be it of the Pestilence, or of persecution, or famine,
will you graunt it necessarye to flye from persecution, yea and
frome famine, yea and to putte on clothes from steruing, but not
from the plague, pestilence or famine, or from poysoned meat &
drinke. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Staying
Stay (v)
OED Staying n. 1 1. a. In various intransitive senses: Coming to a
stand, waiting, continuing in a place or a condition; †hesitating,
delaying.
1546 (OED)
So these things following, are [/69./] found very much to comfort
the sight in staying the visible spirits from wasting: videlicet,
corall, pearle, the stone called Lapis [/70./] Armenius, spectacles
of Christalline or clear and pure glasse, greene & sky colours, to
dip the eies in cold water, to which purpose, many haue cups
made in the forme of an [/71./] eie, called eie-cups: (...). Bailey,
Morbus.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Steering
Base
Steer (v)
Definition OED Steering n. 1. a. The action of the verb, in various senses.
Earliest attestation c1220 (OED)
Example
Nowe to proue the Lunges to be colde and drye of kinde, it
appeareth by hys swift steering, for he lyeth euer wauing ouer
the hart, and about the harte. Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 5
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Sticking
Stick (v)
OED Sticking n. 1 1. b. Fixing or fastening in position. Also with
on, etc.
c1386 (OED)
For at some times I observed, that they could not keep their
Locks from flying to their Cheeks, and though neither of them
made any use, or had any need of Painting from sticking there.
Boyle, Magnetism.
452

APPENDIX
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Sticking out
Stick out (v)
The action of projecting or protuding.
Cf. Stick out v. (in Stick v.): 1. intr. To jut out, project, protrude.
Earliest attestation 1650 (EMEMT)
Example
A Tumor in Greek is called [^GREEK OMITTED^], that is, a
prominence or protuberance in the body. And from hence the
Latine words uncus, a crook or hook, and aduncus, bended or
crooked, are derived: Because things bended cause a sticking
out. Read, Workes.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Stinging
Base
Sting (v)
Definition OED Stinging n. a. The action of wounding with a sting; an
instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
The causes without the body are divers both malignant and
venemous. 1. The air drawn in, Inspiration sent out by
transpiration. (...) 5. The stingings and bitings of venemous
creatures, either piercing the body, or any other waies hurting,
as by sight, hissing, venemous breath, or spiritual species.
Sennert, Practical.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Stinking
Base
Stink (v)
Definition OED Stinking n. The action of the verb stink; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation c1330 (?a1300) (OED)
Example
[}Breath stinking, Lozenges to cure.}] TAke the juyce of
Lycorice mundified ij +o, boyle it in Hysop water to a good
hight, then work it up in your hands with some oyle of Anniseed,
and some Gum Arabick, with three graines of Musk incorporate
altogether; make Lozenges thereof, dissolve one at once in your
mouth. Wood, Alphabetical.
Tokens 5
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Stirring
Stir (v)
OED Stirring n. 6. Agitation with the hand or an implement so as
to shift or mix the parts. a. of a liquid, of coals, etc.
1398 (OED)
(...) then strow a little Red and White [^p.158^] Lead, being
mingled together in Powder, still stirring it with a clean stick,
453

APPENDIX
Tokens
and so strow in more and more of your Lead by little and little,
till all be in, still keep it with stirring, that it burn not at the
bottom, stir it for an hour and half together, then make the Fire
biffer, till the redness be turned into a dark Colour, (...).
Woolley, Supplement.
8 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Stitching
Base
Stitch (v)
Definition OED Stitching n. 2. The action of fastening or uniting by stitches.
Also, ornamentation with stitches.
Earliest attestation 1521-2 (OED)
Example
In great Fluxes of bloud the Glover's Stitch is best. Endeavour in
your Stitching to bring the Artery and Vein to its wounded
fellow; so shall you the likelier secure your self, and make the
work more seemly. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 5
Nominalization Stoppage
Base
Stop (v)
Definition OED Stoppage n. The action of stopping, the condition of being
stopped. 1. a. Obstruction of a road, passage, stream, or current;
†concr. something that obstructs. Cf. also Stopping n. 1., in same
sense.
Earliest attestation 1467 (OED)
Example
(...) to take off the sharpness and acrimony of the humours, and
to asswage the boiling of the Blood, the heat of the Urine, and the
Reins. For which reason they are us'd not only in stoppages of
the Urine, and in Gonorrhea's, but also in Inflammations of the
Natural parts of those that are troubl'd with Venereal
Distempers. Charas, Royal.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Stopping
Stop (v)
OED Stopping n. 1. The action of stop in various senses. Cf. also
Stoppage n. 1. a., in same sense.
1487 (a1380) (OED)
4 The iuice of it and of Morrell is pressed out, and when it is
dried, it is kept in the shadowe for all purposes aforesaid. The
iuice of the berries dried in the shadow, is good for y=e=
dropsie, the stone, & stopping of y=e= vrine. Langham, Garden.
16 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Straining
Strain (v)
OED Striaining n. 1. The action of stretching, extending, drawing
454

APPENDIX
tight, wrenching, etc.; the fact of being stretched, wrenched, etc.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
Or take Violet flowers, Borage, Sena, Tyme, the juyce of
Fumitory and Lycorice, make your Decoction of Whay, infuse
therein [/15./] some Elder barke, then adde thereto iij sorts of
Myrabolanies ana iiij +Q, stirred together on a soft fire, and
after the strayning adde to it Lapis Acivenius ix times quenched
in the same Decoction, and i +Q thereof made in subtill powder,
minister this before day. Wood, Alphabetical.
Tokens 5
Nominalization Strangulation
Base
< Latin strangulātiōn-em, n. of action < strangulāre (to strangle)
Definition OED Strangulation n. 1. a. The action or process of stopping
respiration by compression of the air-passage, esp. by a sudden
and violent compression of the windpipe; the condition of being
strangled by such compression.
Earliest attestation 1542 (OED)
Example
(...) somtimes it taketh course by the nose, and is called the pose;
sometimes to the mouth, and causeth great expuition, and
spitting, and the falling of the uvula, and toothach; somtimes to
the windpipe, and therof commeth raucedo, the hoarsnes;
somtimes to the lungs, and causeth exulceration or putrifaction
thereof, or some great obstruction, which bringeth a difficulty of
breathing and strangulation; (...). Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Stratification
Base
< medieval Latin strātificātiōnem, n. of action < strātificāre (to
stratify)
Definition OED Stratification n. 1. †a. The action of depositing something
in layers; spec. Obs.
Earliest attestation 1617 (OED)
Example
When you have thus filled your Crucible, by continual
stratifications of the filings and powder, so that, as neer as may
be, no one of the filings may touch another, place the Crucible in
a gradual fire, (...). Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Strengthening
Strengthen (v)
OED Strengthening n. 1. The action of strengthen, in various
senses; an instance of this.
1535 (OED)
I am heere also in this place for the clensing and strenghtning of
the eies especially to commend vnto you the frequent vse of old
and cleere white wine, in which the Calaminar stone hath beene
455

APPENDIX
oftentimes extinguished: (...). Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Striking
Base
Strike (v)
Definition OED Striking n. 1. a. The action of strike, in various senses.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
It is a very common Experiment, by striking with a Flint against
a Steel, to make certain fiery and shining Sparks to fly out from
between those two compressing Bodies. Hooke, Life.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Stuffing
Base
Stuff (v)
Definition OED Stuffing n. 1. a. The action of stuff, or the result of this
action; †the strengthening of an army or military position (obs.);
filling or cramming with material; gorging, eating to repletion.
Earliest attestation 1533 (OED)
Example
The round, being drunk with wine, helps (besides the former)
stuffings of the lungues, hardnes of the spleen, ruptures,
convulsions; both of them resist poison. I never read any use of
the climing Birthwort. Culpeper, London.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Sublimation
Base

APPENDIX
taking one group, matrix, set, etc., from another in order to obtain
their difference. Cf. also Substracting n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation ?a1425 (OED)
Example
(...) for if you take 46. degrees, 1’3. out of degrees, the remainder
will be 43. degrees, 4’7. which is the complement, so as you
neede not to make any Subtraction out of to find the complement
of any arch, that hath any minutes annexed thereunto: (...)
Blundevile, Briefe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Substracting
Substract (v)
OED Substracting n. Now nonstandard and rare. The action of
substract; withdrawal; removal. Cf. also Subtraction n. 2. a., in
same sense.
1549 (OED)
(...) but onely to subtract the giuen Arke out of the whole
Quadrant which is degrees, and the remainder shall be the
complement: as in the former example by subtracting 8. degrees,
out of degrees, you shal find that there remaineth 81. degrees,
which is the complement of that arch. Blundevile, Briefe.
6 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Succession
Base
< Old French succession (from 13th cent.) or its source Latin
successio, –ōnem, n. of action < succēdĕre (to succeed)
Definition OED Succession n. 1. a. The action of a person or thing
following, or succeeding to the place of, another; the coming of
one person or thing after another; also, the passing from one act
or state to another; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation c1405 (c1385) (OED)
Example
The Longitude of any Planet or Starre is to bee counted in the
Ecliptique line containing in circuit degrees, reckoning from the
first point of Aries, and so to Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer, & so
foorth according to the succession of the signe, vntill you come
againe vnto the first point of Aries, at which point such Longitude
both endeth and beginneth. Blundevile, Cosmographie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Sucking
Base
Suck (v)
Definition OED Sucking n. 1 1. a. The action of the verb suck; suction. Also,
an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1382 (OED)
Example
To this part belongeth the curing of tongue-tyed children, in
whom sucking and speech are hindered. Read, Workes.
Tokens 3
457

APPENDIX
Nominalization Sufferance
Base
< Anglo-Norman, Old French suf(f)rance, (...) < late Latin
sufferentia , < sufferre (to suffer)
Definition OED Sufferance n. 2. a. The suffering or undergoing of pain,
trouble, wrong, etc. arch. Cf. Suffering n. 2. a., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1426 (OED)
Example
As the cause in the fote ca~not trouble the flanke and leue the
knee (the mean betwixte) except there were a greater consent and
likenes of nature in sufferance (whiche we call sympathian)
betwixte those then thother. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Suffering
Suffer (v)
OED Suffering n. 2. a. The bearing or undergoing of pain,
distress, or tribulation. In early use const. of the thing suffered.
Cf. also Sufferance n. 2., in same sense.
c1340 (OED)
(...) Of which sort I remember I have seen one and made some
tryals with it that yielded an income to the owner, who received
money from Navigators and others for suffering them to touch
their needles, swords, knives &c. at his excellent Magnet. Boyle,
Magnetism.
3 (2 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Suffocation
Base
< Latin suffōcātio–, –ōnem, n. of action < suffōcāre (to suffocate)
Definition OED Suffocation n. a. The act of suffocating or condition of
being suffocated.
Earliest attestation 1525 (EMEMT)
Example
Fumygacyon made of lignum Aloes and gyuen to a woman
benethe prouoketh the floures/ and helpeth the suffocacyon of
the matryce/ and it behoueth the woman to be wrapped with
clothes that the same come not in her nose. Anonymous, Newe.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Suffusion
Base
< Latin suffūsio, –ōnem, n. of action < suffūs– (to suffuse)
Definition OED Suffusion n. 1. The defluxion or extravasation of a fluid or
‘humour’ over a part of the body; †concr. the fluid itself; spec. in
Old Med., cataract.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
(...) affirming by his experience, that it doeth so mightily cleare
the sight, that suffusions are thereby wonderfully remoued, and
especially moistures of the eies. Bailey, Preseruation.
Tokens 1
458

APPENDIX
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Summoning
Summon (v)
OED Summoning n. The action of summon; the issue of a
summons.
c1330 (OED)
Fascia faciens Apostema is that which will cure an Aposteme, by
summoning the Matter up into one part, which might perhaps
dangerously flow into others, and those more principal.
Wiseman, Wounds.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Sunburning
Base
Sun + burning
Definition OED Sunburning n. ‘Burning’ by exposure to the sun; sunburn.
Earliest attestation 1530 (OED)
Example
Of Spurge the greater and lesser, they are both (taken inwardly)
too violent for a vulgar use, outwardly in ointments they cleanse
the skin, and take away sunburning. Culpeper, London.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Suppling
Base
Supple (v)
Definition OED Suppling n. 1. The action of making something more
supple, soft, or flexible; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1542 (OED)
Example
The third, that it should go into the joynts for the suppling and
moistning thereof, for they are compounded of dry substances
(..). Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Supposing
Suppose (v)
OED Supposing n. 1. The action or fact of inclining to think
something; conjecturing; assuming; imagining. Also: a
conjecture, a hypothesis, an assumption, a supposition. Now usu.:
the expressing, or an expression, of a thought using the verb
‘suppose’. In early use also: †thinking, belief, opinion (obs.).
a1393 (OED)
For instance, in making a [^p.8^] revulsion, an old and
confirmed operation and practice, tho never to be accounted for,
but by supposing Harvey's noble Theorem of the circulation of
the Blood, however contrary to that Doctrine, the most of our
modern Physitians have been pleased to think it. Cockburn,
Continuation.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
459

APPENDIX
Nominalization Suppuration
Base
< classical Latin suppūrātiōn–, (...) < suppūrāt–, past participial
stem of suppūrāre (suppurate) + –iō (–ation)
Definition OED Suppuration n. Med. 1. The formation or discharge of pus;
the maturation of an abscess; an instance of this. In early use
also: healing occurring in this way, or (a) medical treatment
intended to promote this (now hist.).
Earliest attestation ?a1425 (OED)
Example
And note that generallye the great inflamations for the moore
parte doe induce payne, and palsatiue dolour, and come at length
to suppuration. Gale, Institution.
Tokens 13
Nominalization Suspension
Base
< late Latin suspensio, –ōnem, n. of action < suspens–,
suspendĕre (to suspense)
Definition OED Suspension n. 9. a. The action of hanging something up; the
condition of being hung, or of hanging from a support; occas.
hanging as a form of capital punishment; spec. in Med. the
treatment of disease by suspending the patient.
Earliest attestation 1546 (OED)
Example
(...) whereas the Amber having, by reason of its suspension, its
parts counterpoised by one another; to make the excited edge
approach to another body, that edge needed not at all ascend, but
onely be moved horizontally, to which way of moving the gravity
of the Electric which the string kept from moving downwards
could be but little or no hinderance. Boyle, Magnetism.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Sustaining
Sustain (v)
OED Sustaining n. 2. The action of sustain (in various senses).
Also: an instance or the result of this. Cf. also Sustentation n. 3.
b., in same sense.
1395 (OED)
(...) hereby in apparance it seemeth that it skilleth not much, what
meat is receaued in respect of sustaining this or that complexion:
(...). Bright, Melancholy.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Sustentation
Base < Anglo-Norman and Middle French sustentacion, (...) <
sustentāt–, past participial stem of sustentāre (to sustentate) + –iō
(–ation)
Definition OED Sustentation n. 3. b. The action of maintaining or
preserving a condition or state of affairs, esp. the maintenance or
preservation of human life. Also occas.: spec. the maintaining of
460

APPENDIX
something at a certain rate or level. Usu. with of. Cf. also
Sustaining n. 2., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1425 (OED)
Example
Whatsoeuer we receaue into the bodie for sustentation of this
fraile life, consisteth of diuersitie of partes, being it selfe
compounded, although to the outward viewe it seemeth to
appeare vniforme: (...). Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Suture
Base
< French suture or its source Latin sūtūra, n. of action < sūt–,
past participial stem of suĕre (to sew)
Definition OED Suture n. 1. a. Surg. The joining of the lips of a wound, or
of the ends of a severed nerve or tendon, by stitches; also, an
instance of this; a stitch used for this purpose.
Earliest attestation ?1541 (OED)
Example
[}Pet.}] What is Suture?[}Ioh.}] It is a ioyning of the parts
separated against the course of nature, which in great wounds is
doone by needle and threed, to th e end the siccatrize be more
sure: like as in great wounds of the thighes, legges, and armes,
where there is great distance betwixt the bordes or brimmes of
the [/39./] wound. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 11
Nominalization Swallowing
Base
Swallow (v)
Definition OED Swallowing n. a. Deglutition; †devouring.
Earliest attestation c1440 (OED)
Example
They are also profitable to make the best advantage for the
swallowing of certain Medicines, whose weight would keep them
always at the bottom of the Glass, were they mingl'd in liquor, as
in several preparations of Mercury and Antimony: (...). Charas,
Royal.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Sweating
Base
Sweat (v)
Definition OED Sweating n. 1. a. Emission of sweat from the pores of the
skin; the process of inducing this, esp. in preparing a person for
athletic contests or a horse for a race.
Earliest attestation c1275 (c1200) (OED)
Example
The lesser resists poyson, aswageth the swellings of the cods,
coming either through wind or cold, helps cold taken after
sweating or labor, Wind chollick, outwardly it draws out thorns,
[/15./] and cures both wounds and ulcers. Culpeper, London.
Tokens 4
461

APPENDIX
Nominalization Swelling
Base
Swell (v)
Definition OED Swelling n. 1. a. The process of becoming, or condition of
having become, larger in bulk, as by internal pressure; distension,
dilatation, expansion.
Earliest attestation 1577 (OED)
Example
For watches letting concoction as Hipp. saieth, and Regime~
[^f.D1r^] sanitat. salern. also, causeth rawe humors and vapors
ingendring swolty heate, causing Feuers, as [/18./] sayth Auic.
resoluing the bodye: wherevpon there foloweth euyl colour,
swelling in the face, moisture of the browes, scarcelye lifting
them, for through watches the braine and instrument of the
senses, (...). Jones, Dial.
Tokens 32
Nominalization Swimming
Base
Swim (v)
Definition (Of the head) the action or fact of being affected with dizziness
Cf. Swimming v. 7. a. Of the head or brain: To be affected with
dizziness; to have a giddy sensation. Also, of the head, to swim
round = to be in a whirl.
Earliest attestation 1530 (OED)
Example
Wash [^p.13^] thy head with the recoction thereof, and apply the
hearbe vnto thy forehead for the swimming and giddinesse or
turning thereof. Langham, Garden.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Swooning
Base
< i-swowen, i-swoȝen (swow)
Definition OED Swooning n. 1. Fainting, syncope.
Earliest attestation c1290 (OED)
Example
This Syrop will last many yeres and is excellent against
swowning and faintnesse of hert, it co~forteth the Brayne and
Sinewes, if it bee vsed as muche as a Hasell Nut at once, at your
pleasure. Partridge, Treasurie.
Tokens 5
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Taking
Take (v)
OED Taking n. I. The action or condition expressed by the verb
take.
c1340 (OED)
But Mixtures differ in this from Potions, that their use is more
frequent and longer, and because there is not so much drank of
them at a time; for being compos'd of powerful Medicines, they
operate in less quantity, and work those effects by repetition,
which could hardly be done at once taking. Charas, Royal.
462

APPENDIX
Tokens
17 (9 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Tarriance
Base
Tarry (v)
Definition OED Tarriance n. Obs. 1. The action of tarrying; delay,
procrastination.
Earliest attestation 1460 (OED)
Example
That it is a feuer, thus I haue partly declared, and more wil
streight by the notes of the disease, vnder one shewing also by
thesame notes, signes, and short tariance of the same, that it
consisteth in the spirites. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Tasting
Base
Taste (v)
Definition OED Tasting n. 1. a. In a general sense, trying, testing; †esp., in
early use, touching, feeling; also the sense of touch (obs.).
Earliest attestation a1400 (OED)
Example
(...) or in the conducts that convey the power of hearing unto the
eares, and there causeth a dulnesse of hearing or deafnesse; or
in the conducts that convey the power of smelling to the nose,
and cause either a lack or losse of swelling; or in the conducts
that come to the tongue, and these doth [^p.10^] occasion the like
imperfection in tasting: (...). Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 3
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Teaching
Teach (v)
OED Teaching n. 2. a. The imparting of instruction or
knowledge; the occupation or function of a teacher.
c1175 (OED)
(...) but onely for easie maner of teachyng, all shall be called
figures, that the eye can discerne, of whiche this is one, when one
line lyeth flatte whiche is named the ground line and an other
commeth downe on it, and is called a perpendiculer or plumme
lyne, as in this example you may see, (...). Record, Geometrie.
3 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Tearing
Tear (v)
OED Tearing n. 1. The action of tear, in various senses.
c1460 (c1400) (OED)
So a Cut into a Bone is a Wound: Tearing the Flesh, Nerve,
Sinew, Tendon or Cartilage, by Bullet, Stone, Splinter, &c. is a
Wound. Wiseman, Wounds.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
463

APPENDIX
Nominalization Temperance
Base
< Anglo-Norman temperaunce (R. Grosseteste a1250), < Latin
temperāntia moderation, < temperānt-em, present participle of
temperāre (to temper)
Definition OED Temperance n. 2. a. spec. The avoidance of excess in eating
and drinking; esp., in later use, moderation in regard to
intoxicants, sobriety. Now often applied to the practice or
principle of total abstinence from alcoholic drink; teetotalism.
Earliest attestation 1509 (OED)
Example
Here at large to ronne out vntill my breth wer spent, as vpon a
common place, against y=e= intempera~ce or excessiue diete of
Englande, thincommodities & displeasures of the same many
waies: and contrarie, in comme~dation of meane diete and
temperance (called of Plato sophrosyne, for that it co~serneth
wisdome) and the thousande commodities therof, both for helthe,
welthe, witte, and longe life, well I might, & lose my laboure:
(...). Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Tempering
Base
Temper (v)
Definition OED Tempering n. The action of the verb temper, in various
senses; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation a1382 (OED)
Example
So that, it seems, Iron does contain a very combustible
sulphureous Body, which is, in all likelihood, one of the causes of
this Phaenomenon, and which may be perhaps very much
concerned in the business of its hardening and tempering: of
which somewhat is said in th Description of Muscovy-glass.
Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Tendency
Base
< medieval Latin tendentia (...), < Latin tendentem, present
participle of tendĕre (to tend)
Definition OED Tendency n. 1. a. The fact or quality of tending to
something; a constant disposition to move or act in some
direction or toward some point, end, or purpose; leaning,
inclination, bias, or bent toward some object, effect, or result.
Earliest attestation 1628 (OED)
Example
Putrid Feavers depend upon the putrefaction (or a tendance to
Corruption) of the blood, whose immediate effect is the
corruption of the said nutritive (nourishing) humours, but
mediately and swiftly (if tending to death) corrupting the
essential principles of the parts; (...). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 1
464

APPENDIX
Nominalization Tension
Base < French tension (...), < late Latin tensiōn-em, n. of action <
tendĕre (to stretch) (past participle tens-us, tent-us)
Definition OED Tension n. The action of stretching or condition of being
stretched: in various senses.
Earliest attestation 1541 (OED)
Example
[}Pet.}] Which are the signes of spasme? [}Ioh.}] Difficile
moouing of the body, tention of the necke, contraction of the
lippes, astriction of the iawes, peruertion of the eyes and face,
which, if it take the course to the parts appoynted for respiration,
it is lamentable, and the sicke shall soone dye, that which is
confirmed, is incurable. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Tenting
Tent (v)
The act of applying a tent to a wound.
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens 1
Cf. Tent v. b. To treat by means of a tent; to apply a tent to (a
wound, etc., also to a person); to distend or plug with a tent. Also
fig.
1695 (OED)
I have not mention'd their Tenting, Probing, and other
nonsensical trumpery, which is still used by most Chirurgeons, to
the great detriment of their Patients, because many judicious
Chirurgeons in all places begin to leave them off; who, I question
not, will be glad to change their old insuccessful way of Practice
altogether, when once inform'd of a better and more certain
Method. Colbatch, Novum.
Nominalization Thinking
Base
Think (v)
Definition OED Thinking n. 1. c. The exercising or occupying of the mind,
esp. the understanding, in an active way; engagement in mental
action or activity: see various senses of think.
Earliest attestation a1382 (OED)
Example
The saide seconde ventricle is smal and thynne, and it passethe
frome the fyrste, to the last, and toucheth bothe. And therfore it is
an instrument of two vertues namely of thynkyng and diuidyng,
and of inferrynge one thynge of another. De Vigo, Excellent.
Tokens 3
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Tillage
Till (v)
OED Tillage n. 1. a. The act, operation, or art of tilling or
465

APPENDIX
cultivating land so as to fit it for raising crops; cultivation,
agriculture, husbandry.
Earliest attestation a1538 (OED)
Example
The industrie & diligence bestowed in the art, is lyke the [^f.9r^]
tyllage of the plowman, and laste of all, tyme dothe strengthen
these, and suffereth them perfectlye to be norished. Gale,
Institution.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Touching
Touch (v)
OED Touching n. 1. a. The action, or an act, of feeling something
with the hand, etc.; the fact or state of being contiguous; touch,
contact; a touch; spec. for the ‘king's evil’.
c1290 (OED)
This cholerick humor as the former is either naturall or
unnaturall: the naturall is an humor in quality hot and dry, but
not actually dry, for that in touching it is felt to be moist, but
potentially, for that it hath the power of drying, and in substance
thin, in colour yellow, and in taste bitter. Holland, Gutta.
8 (6 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Transmutation
Base < French transmutation (...), or < late Latin transmūtātiōn-em, n.
of action from transmūtāre (to change, shift)
Definition OED Transmutation n. 1. Change of condition; mutation;
sometimes implying alternation or exchange. Obs. or arch.
Earliest attestation c1380 (OED)
Example
Nor is Wood the onely substance that may be this kind of
transmutation be chang’d into stone; for I my self have seen and
examin’d very many kinds of substances, and among very
credible Authours, we may meet with Histories of such
Metamorphoses wrought almost on all kind of substances, (...).
Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Transpiration
< medieval or modern Latin transpīrātiōn-em, n. of action from
transpīrāre (to transpire); perhaps through French transpiration
OED Transpiration n. 1. a. Exhalation through the skin or surface
of the body; formerly, also, evaporation. Also concr. matter
transpired.
1562 (OED)
And Sanctorius, that famous Roman Physician, in his nice
Experiments observes, that we waste more every day by
insensible Transpiration thro the Pores, than by the visible,
sensible Evacuations of Urin and Stool. Colbatch, Novum.
466

APPENDIX
Tokens 7
Nominalization Trapping
Base
Trap (v)
Definition OED Trapping n. 2 The action of trap in various senses; catching
by or as by a trap, etc.
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
(...) and if the sayde holes or dentes be pressed and wroung, then
by trapping of the humour that continueth, he maketh the teares
to fal from the Eye. Vicary, Anatomie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Travelling
Travel (v)
OED Travelling n. The action of the verb travel; journeying.
a1382 (OED)
[}Artamasia.}] This herbe is called Mugworte. The vertue of this
herbe is thus. If a man bere this herbe aboute hym/ he shall not
be wery of traueylynge in his waye. Anonymous, Grete.
1 (verbal gerund)
Treating
Treat (v)
OED Treating n. The action of the verb treat.
c1450 (OED)
I will begin with diete wher I lefte, & then go furth with aier
where I beganne [^f.20v^] in treatyng the causes, and declare
the waie to auoide infection, and so furthe to the reste in order.
Caius, Sweatyng.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Trembling
Base
Tremble (v)
Definition OED Trembling n. The action of the verb tremble in various
senses; in quot. 1902, spec. ague in sheep.
Earliest attestation 1303 (OED)
Example
COnserue of buglosse flowres, co~forteth y=e= hot hert, it is
good for the [^f.C2v^] franticke, for the lunatick, and for the
melancolicke, it is good for the Sinrop and sowning, it taketh
away heart burning and trembling of the heart, or stomack, it
profiteth against Coler. Partridge, Treasurie.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Troubling
Trouble (v)
OED Troubling n. The action of the verb trouble, or an instance
467

APPENDIX
of this (in various senses).
Earliest attestation c1340 (OED)
Example
For what nedes manye wordes, watches do let nature from the
office of disgestinge, wherefore they leaue great rawnes, & lacke
of naturall heat enseweth, of the which euil humors foloweth:
again puffing of the face, moisture of the browes, and griefe of
the mouing of them, when as the faculty is resolued, copy of
vapors and humors troublinge. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Trying
Try (v)
OED Trying n. The action of the verb try, in various senses.
c1440 (OED)
(...) I perceived I could not, as else I might have done, shew the
Curious a new way of judgning of true and false Emralds, yet the
like way may be, though not always certain, yet oftntimes of use,
in the estimating whether Diamonds be true or counterfeit,
especially if, being set in Rings, the surest way of trying them
cannot conveniently be employed. Boyle, Magnetism.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Turmoiling
Base
Turmoil (v)
Definition OED Turmoiling n. The action of the verb turmoil; commotion,
agitation, disquietude; also, toiling, severe labour.
Earliest attestation 1550 (OED)
Example
Howbeit, in conclusion notwithstanding all our turmoiling, much
care, industry and diligence, with the application of most
excellent medicines very remediable and appropriate for that
cure yet was his griefe rather the worse then better. Clowes,
Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Turning
Turn (v)
OED Turning n. 11. Change; vicissitude; alteration.
1548 (OED)
As where there is loss of Substance, there he must assist Nature
with his Sarcoticks, for regaining what is lost: and where there is
Contusion, there he must endeavour the turning what is contused
into Pus or Matter, which must be performed before there can
possibly be any Reunion. Wiseman, Wounds.
8 (4 of them verbal gerunds)
Tying
Tie (v)
468

APPENDIX
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
OED Tying n. 1 1. The action of tie in various senses; fastening
with a cord or string; connection, binding, etc. Also attrib.
1480 (OED)
Fasten not your Rowler by tying a knot; nor yet sow it upon the
Wound, or where you cannot easily come at it again; lest you
hurt your Patient. Wiseman, Wounds.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Ulceration
Base
< Latin ulcerātiōn–, ulcerātio, noun of action < ulcerāre (to
ulcerate)
Definition OED Ulceration n. Pathol. 1. The action, process, or state of
forming ulcers or of becoming ulcerated.
Earliest attestation c1400 (OED)
Example
This vnguent is for iche of the leggs and inflamation,
excoriation, burning and blisteringe, comminge of whote
humours, and for whote and sharpe vlcerations. &c. Gale,
Institution.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Unction
Base
< Latin unctiōn–, unctio, noun of action < unct–, ung(u)ĕre (to
oint)
Definition OED Unction n. 4. The action of anointing or rubbing with an
ointment or oil as a lubricating or preserving substance.
Earliest attestation 1580 (OED)
Example
Labri veneris, Dipsaci. Fullers-Thistle, Teazle. The Root boyled
in wine till it be thick (quoth Dioscorides) helps by unction the
clefts of the fundament, as also takes away warts and wens.
Culpeper, London.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Understanding
Base
Understand (v)
Definition The fact or action of comprehending and understanding.
Earliest attestation a1425 (a1395) (OED)
Example
For the better understanding hereof, I must put you in mind, that
there is not any Part of our body admits of a Solution of
continuity without Pain. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 4
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Union
< French union (...) < Latin ūniōn-em, ūnio the number one,
unity, uniting, etc., < ūnus (one)
OED Union n. 1 1. The action of joining or uniting one thing to
another or others, or two or more things together, so as to form
one whole or complete body; the state or condition of being so
469

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens 3
joined or united; combination, conjunction: c. In physical sense;
spec. in Surg., the growing together of the parts of a broken bone,
lips of a wound, etc., in the process of healing. Cf. also Uniting n.
a. and Unition n., in same sense.
1631 (OED)
By Bandage not only are Parts dextrously accomodated for
Union; but [/17./] such also as would unnaturally grow together
are kept asunder. In Burnings, Scaldings, &c. the Fingers would
many times grow together, the Chin would grow to the Breast,
the Arms to the Sides, were they not this way hindred. By them
are Fluxes averted, and the delapse of Humours into the interiour
Parts forbidden; and, being already lodged, they are prest out.
Wiseman, Wounds.
Nominalization Uniting
Base
Unite (v)
Definition OED Uniting n. a. The action of the verb; union; an instance or
occasion of this. Cf. Union n. 1 a. and Unition n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation 1548 (OED)
Example
Therefore twelfthly, it seems reasonable to think that there is no
such thing as an Element of Fire that should attract or draw up
the flame, or towards which the flame should endeavour to
ascend out of a desire or appetite of uniting with that as its
Homogeneal primitive and generating Element; (...). Hooke,
Micrographia.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Unition
Base
< late Latin ūnītiōn–, ūnītio, n. of action < Latin ūnīre (to unite)
Definition OED Unition n. The action of uniting; the fact or condition of
being united; union, conjunction, junction. †b. Of material
substances or bodies. Obs. Cf. Union n. 1 a. and Uniting n., in
same sense.
Earliest attestation 1543 (OED)
Example
Parts separated and disjoyned are to be brought together gently
and equally, that they may touch one another, and so be prepared
for Unition. Wiseman, Wounds.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Usage
Base < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French usage, (...) <
classical Latin ūsus (use) + Old French –age (–age)
Definition OED Usage n. Obs. 2. a. Habitual use, established practice, or
customary mode of action, on the part of a community; custom,
tradition. Cf. also Using n., in same sense.
Earliest attestation c1330 (c1300) (OED)
470

APPENDIX
Example
Notwithstanding in other Countries [^p.8^][/41./] which haue
other vsuall drinkes, the same things may be put in their common
drinks, So some haue put them in ale, some in beere and some in
meade, and no doubt but all these meanes are very good
according to the vsage and disposition of the partie. Bailey,
Preseruation.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Using
Use (v)
OED Using n. 1. a. The action of making use of something, or the
fact of being used. Cf. Usage n. 2. a., in same sense.
c1340 (OED)
First of all, my Medicins never cause any Pain, unless it be just
when the external one is squeez'd or injected into the Wound, and
that pain is very little more than what would be caused by using
Spring-water in the same manner. Colbatch, Novum.
4 (3 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Ustion
Base
< Old French ustion (...), < Latin ūstiōn-em, noun of action < ūstus,
past participle of ūrĕre (to burn)
Definition OED Ustion n. 2. a. The action of searing; cauterization.
Earliest attestation 1563 (EMEMT)
Example
Guido de Cauliaco (in his boke which he calleth his Collectorie)
defineth it in this sorte. Chirurgirie is a parte of terapentike
helinge men by insition, vstion, & articulation. Gale, Qvydos.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Variation
Base
< Old French variation, (...) < Latin variātiōn–, variātio, n. of
action < variāre (to vary)
Definition OED Variation n. 5. a. variation of the compass, (†lodestone,) or
needle, the deviation or divergence of the magnetic needle from
the true north and south line; the amount or angular measure of
this; = declination.
Earliest attestation ?a1560 (OED)
Example
M. Borrough in his discourse of the variation of the Compasse,
defineth the Magneticall Meridian to bee a great Circle, which
passeth through the Zenith and the Pole of the load stone called
in Latine Magnes, (...). Blundevile, Cosmographie.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Venesection
< medieval or modern Latin vēnæ sectio (cutting of a vein)
OED Venesection n. Med. 1. The operation of cutting or opening
a vein; phlebotomy; the practice of this as a medical remedy.
471

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation
Example
Continuation.
Tokens 2
1661 (OED)
And first, since the strength and velocity of the blood, is to be
understood by the Pulse, 'tis to That we must have regard, that
we may know how far [^p.19^] they either exceed or are lower
than their ordinary measure; and proportionably to the number
of pulses; more than in a natural state, so to let blood, that the
blood after venesection may come to a greater cohesion, may not
be so much attrited and broken down, and so there may not be
separated so great a quantity of animal spirits. Cockburn,
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Ventilating
Ventilate (v)
OED Ventilating n. 1. a. The action of the verb in various senses;
ventilation.
1660 (OED)
Add hereunto the continual vigilies (overwaking, or want of
sleep,) melancholique, sorry, dull, lingring passions, the said
Hypochondriack patient is præcipitated (forced) into, whereby
the spirits being rendred dull, stupid, languid (fainting), and
suppressed, are deserted (left) incapable of ventilating
(breathing) and purifying the blood, and debilitated (weakened)
in attracting (drawing) nutriment for the parts, which
consequently must wither and shrink. Harvey, Morbus.
1 (verbal gerund)
Nominalization Venturing
Base
Venture (v)
Definition OED Venturing n. 1. The action of the vb.; spec. engagement or
participation in a commercial venture or enterprise.
Earliest attestation 1548 (OED)
Example
'Tis true I might alledge that the profound intricacy of so
particular a part of knowledge, and the many blunders I have
observ'd in the most learned Authors that have but touch'd upon
these difficulties, tho never so slightly, have deterr'd me from
venturing upon so nice a Task; and after so reasonable an
excuse I cou'd not be blam'd for any considerable neglect or
omission. Cockburn, Continuation.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Verification
< Old French verificacion (...), < verifier, or < medieval Latin
*vērificātiōn–, vērificātio, < vērificāre (to verify)
OED Verification n. 1. The action of demonstrating or proving to
be true or legitimate by means of evidence or testimony; formal
assertion of truth. Now rare. Cf. also Verifying n., in same sense.
472

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation 1523 (OED)
Example
Thus then appeareth the verification of the first condition that a
Chyrurgion ought to haue, for he ought to be lettered & learned.
And this condition declareth Galen in the first booke of the
Theraperticke against Thesillus, where he saith at this point.
Chauliac, Qvydos.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Verifying
Base
Verify (v)
Definition OED Verifying n. The action of the vb. in various senses; the
proving of something; verification. Cf. Verification n. 1., in same
sense.
Earliest attestation a1325 (OED)
Example
The experimentall verifying of his excellent skill in this disease,
as also in many others, is by diuers worthy men often times
commended: which Malady doth vexe and trouble most pitifully
the common sort of people. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Viewing
View (v)
OED Viewing n. The action of beholding or observing;
examination or inspection.
1548 (OED)
(...) therefore the degrees or arches of the Quadrant are faine to
be twice repeated in the front of euery two Pages, as you may
plainely see by viewing the said tables, and euery Page
containeth seauen collums, whereof the first on the left hand
containeth the minutes belonging to the degrees or arches of the
Quadrant, (...). Blundenvile, Briefe.
1 (verbal gerund)
Violating
Violate (v)
The act of damaging something by violence.
Cf. Violate v. †4. To damage or injure by violence. Obs.
1548 (OED)
(...) these indeede I holde to bee for the most part very
daungerous to be attempted, for feare of violating or touching
the said principall Vessels, eyther-2 by incision or Caustick
remedies, which often time bring with them many vnfortunate
Symptomes or iniurious accidents, as heereafter more at large
shall appeare. Clowes, Artificiall.
1 (verbal gerund)
Vitrification
473

APPENDIX
Base
< medieval or modern Latin *vitrificātio, < *vitrificāre (to
vitrify)
Definition OED Vitrification n. 1. a. The action or process of vitrifying;
conversion into a glassy substance by fusion due to heat; the fact
of being so converted.
Earliest attestation 1617 (OED)
Example
(...) for I found, when a Spark went out, nothing but a very small
thin long sliver of Iron or Steel, unmelted at either end. So that it
seems, that some of these Sparks are the slivers or chips of the
Iron vitrified, Others are only the slivers melted into Balls
without vitrification, And the third kind are only small slivers of
the Iron, made red-hot with the violence of the stroke given on
the Steel by the Flint. Hooke, Micrographia.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Voiding
Base
Void (v)
Definition OED Voiding n. 1. The discharging, emitting, or evacuation of
something (now only of the bladder or bowel); = voidance.
Earliest attestation a1425 (OED)
Example
The Bladder being hurt, there is great dolour on the sheere-bone
and Ilya, pissing of bloud, voyding of the vryne at the wound,
vomiting of choller, coldnesse of extremities. Lowe, Art.
Tokens 2
Nominalization Vomiting
Base
Vomit (v)
Definition OED Vomiting n. 1. a. The act of ejecting the contents of the
stomach through the mouth; an instance of this.
Earliest attestation 1495 (OED)
Example
The gum drunk is good against vomiting of blood with vineger, it
healeth the skirfe and skab of the skinne, drunke with sweete
wine, or Malmesey, it helpeth the stone. Langham, Garden.
Tokens 13
Nominalization Wagging
Base
Wag (v)
Definition OED Wagging n. 1. a. The action of the verb wag in its various
senses.
Earliest attestation 1362 (OED)
Example
(...) at one time he would magnifye his Phisitian an Chirurgian as
it were aboue the heauens, and for the wagging of a rush, hee
would discredit them & dispraise them againe, down to the pit of
hell. Clowes, Artificiall.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Walking
474

APPENDIX
Base
Walk (v)
Definition OED Walking n. 1. a. The action of moving or travelling at a
regular and fairly slow pace by lifting and setting down each foot
in turn so that one of the feet is always on the ground; the action
of taking exercise or recreation on foot; (also) a person's gait. Of
a horse or other quadruped: the action of moving at a slow pace
(as opposed to trotting, cantering, galloping, etc.). Also to go a-
walking .
Earliest attestation a1325 (?c1300) (OED)
Example
Also much walking and travell on [/42./] foot, because it draweth
a deflux to the feet, may procure [/43./] the Gout. Also the use of
cold and moist meats, as Cucumbers, Gourds, Lettuce, Endive,
and such [/44./] like. Holland, Gutta.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Wambling
Wamble (v)
(Of the stomach) Rolling about in nausea.
Cf. Wamble v. 1. b. Of the stomach or its contents: To be felt to
roll about (in nausea).
Earliest attestation 1398 (OED)
Example
Rasis out of the Assirian toung, translated a pretye libell into the
Greke intreating of the pestilence, shewynge howe and by what
signes it is perceiued to molest theym that [/66./] firste haue it:
the backe aketh, a shewing in maner of y=e= grudging of an
ague, cold therwithall, the body weried and heuy, geuen to
[^f.G1v^] slumber, drousines of the heade, coughing slowly
wa~bling of y=e= stomack, desier to drinke, lothing of meat. &c.
Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Waning
Base
Wane (v)
Definition OED Waning n. 1. a. gen. Decrease or diminution in magnitude,
importance, brilliancy, intensity, etc.
Earliest attestation c900 (OED)
Example
The vertue of this herbe is thus. They that ete of the berys or of
the herbe in wanynge of the mone: whan he is in signo virginis:
yf he haue the fallynge euyll he shall be hole therof: or yf he bere
this herbe aboute his necke he shalbe holpen without doubte: and
it hathe many other good vertues. Anonymous, Grete.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Wanting
Want (v)
OED Wanting n. The condition of being without, or lacking,
475

APPENDIX
something; the absence or deficiency of something.
Earliest attestation c1380 (OED)
Example [^The list in two columns continues.^] Ringwormes 23 Sight 13
Sleepe wanting 24 ermes to come downe 6 (...). Langham,
Garden.
Tokens 1
Nominalization Warning
Base
Warn (v)
Definition OED Warning n. 1 The action of warn. 2. a. Previous intimation
or threat of impending evil or danger. Phrase, to give warning
(to), to warn. Also Sc. to make warning.
Earliest attestation OE (OED)
Example
Therefore God and nature have reared vp the head of man onely
for the eyes, for it is the hyest member of man: and as a beholder
or watchman standeth in a highe Towre to geue warning of the
Enemies, so doth the Eye of man geue warning vnto the common
Wittes, for the defence of all other members of the body. Vicary,
Anatomie.
Tokens 3
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Washing
Wash (v)
OED Washing n. 1. a. The action or an act of cleansing by water,
or of laving or bathing with water or other liquid. Also fig. with
reference to spiritual or moral purification.
?c1225 (?a1200) (OED)
Also our authors do commend the washing of the eies with the
vrin of a childe, and sometimes to drop the same into the eies.
Bailey, Preseruation.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Wasting
Base
Waste (v)
Definition OED Wasting n. 4. a. Gradual decay of life or organic tissue;
gradual loss of strength and vitality; consumption, atrophy.
Earliest attestation a1300 (OED)
Example
Sixthly, 3. Aph. 10. & 13. he proposes two kinds of Tabes or
Consumptions, the one being a wasting of the body, occasioned
by any internal cause, the other happening through some Ulcer
in the Lungs. Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 13
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Watching
Watch (v)
OED Watching n. a. The action of watch in various senses. lit.
and fig.
476

APPENDIX
Earliest attestation 1479-81 (OED)
Example
As modest vse of Uenus [/60./] perfourmed in the feare of God in
due time, when the meate in the stomacke is digested, and nature
is desirous to be disburdened, is to be allowed: so immoderate
and vnseasonable vse thereof, doth of all things most hurt the
sight, and soonest induce blindnes: ouer-much watching is not
good: very long sleepes are more hurtfull: (...). Bailey,
Preseruation.
Tokens 3
Nominalization Waxing
Base
Wax (v)
Definition OED Waxing n. 1 The action of wax; growth; increase.
Earliest attestation c1055 (OED)
Example
Such leues as are put to medicins shuld be gatherd whe~ thei
[^f.E7r^] be at at theyr full wexing, ere that their coullour be
chaunged, or that they fade any thing. Partridge, Treasurie.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Weakening
Weaken (v)
OED Weakening n. 1. The action of weaken in various senses; an
instance of this.
1548 (OED)
All which do not one way procure the Gout, but some by breeding
the matter thereof, some by procuring the deflux of the matter,
some by weakning the joynts, making them subject to the deflux.
Holland, Gutta.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Wearing
Wear (v)
OED Wearing n. 1 2. a. The action of carrying on the body (an
article of dress, an ornament, or the like). †of one's wearing:
forming part of one's wardrobe (obs.). Also fig.
c1400 (?c1380) (OED)
Moreover nothig we find taints sound Lungs sooner, than
inspiring (drawing in) the breath of putrid (stinking and
beginning to rot) ulcer'd, or Consumptive Lungs; many having
fallen into Consumptions only by smelling the breath or spittle of
Consumptives, others by drinking after them; and what is more,
by wearing the Cloaths of Consumptives, though two years after
they were left off. Harvey, Morbus.
2 (all of them verbal gerunds)
Welcoming
Welcome (v)
477

APPENDIX
Definition OED Welcoming n. The action of greeting with welcome or of
making welcome; a welcome.
Earliest attestation 1303 (OED)
Example
(...) nowe nature digesteth nothing but to [^p.8^] make vse of
nourishment thereof: else whatsoeuer entreth into the body,
passeth as it commeth, and hath no welcomming: (...). Bright,
Melancholy.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Wetting
Wet (v)
OED Wetting n. 1. The action of making wet, or the fact of
becoming wet; also (with a and pl.), an instance of this:
c1290 (OED)
(...) by means of which, the Coal never so long, you may easily
blow through it; and this you may presently find, by wetting one
end of it with Spittle, and blowing at the other. Hooke,
Micrographia.
1 (verbal gerund)
Windfalling
Windfall (n)
The falling of something by the action of the wind.
Cf. Windfall v. 1. Something blown down by the wind, or the fall
of something so blown down.
Earliest attestation 1552 (EMEMT)
Example
Correcte in doyng the contrary we shall, in dryenge the moiste
with fyres, either in houses or chambers, or on that side the
cities, townes, & houses, that lieth toward the infection and
wynde commyng together, chefely in mornynges & eueninges,
either by burnyng the stubble in the felde, or windfallynges in
the woodes, or other wise at pleasure. Caius, Sweatyng.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Withdrawing
Withdraw (v)
OED Withdrawing n. The action of withdraw in various senses.
c1315 (OED)
Which producing I vnderstand not a discouerie only, as by
withdrawing availe, to shew that which lay behind it, but a
generation and coupling of matter with the forme: which forme it
bringeth not with it, but receaueth it as it were an impression
from the part. Bright, Melancholy.
1 (verbal gerund)
Withering
478

APPENDIX
Base
Wither (v)
Definition OED Withering n. a. The action of wither.
Earliest attestation ?1523 (OED)
Example
(...) for they being disseised (turn'd out) of their most happy seat
Paradise, and so far discarded (cast out) out of Gods favour,
could not but fall into a most dismal, sad, and melancholique
drooping, for the loss of their happiness, the occasional cause
and forerunner of a Marcour, or drying and withering of their
flesh and radical moisture (the deep oyly moisture of the parts,)
or otherwise they might have Spun the thred of their lives much
longer, their principles of life being created in them to extend to
an Eval duration (lasting without end.). Harvey, Morbus.
Tokens 6
Nominalization Working
Base
Work (v)
Definition OED Working n. 6. Influential operation; influence,
effectiveness; also, the result or effect of operation or influence.
Somewhat arch.
Earliest attestation c1374 (OED)
Example
(...) so by the maruelous working of nature, these varieties of
humours are entertained by nourishmentes inclining to like
disposition: although no nourishment can be vtterly voide of all
these partes, no not those that are counted most to encline to any
one humour, as beefe, and veneson to melancholie: honie, and
butter, to choler: and fish to fleume. Bright, Melancholy.
Tokens
29 (7 of them verbal gerunds)
Nominalization Wounding
Base
Wound (v)
Definition OED Wounding n. 1. The action of the verb; the fact of being
wounded. Also fig.
Earliest attestation a1400 (OED)
Example
What has bin said of Bones and Flesh, may be said of Tendons
(the wounding of which was heretofore accounted as fatal as
any thing; and being of a mucilaginous nature, digestive
Medicins were wont to rot and destroy them, and so cause
Mortifications) so that their ends, if totally divided, can be
brought any thing near together; (...). Colbatch, Novum.
Tokens 2
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Wrinkling
Wrinkle (v)
OED Wrinkling n. 2. The action of creasing, puckering, or
contracting into wrinkles; the fact of becoming corrugated or
rivelled.
1528 (OED)
479

APPENDIX
Example
They whiche haue the Ague of cold, thei be vexed with greuous
distillations, for the colde doeth bind the sonnes excreme~ts with
in the skin, their flesh also is lesse hot, and the whole body
pretendeth greater humor, bicause the accustomed effluxe is
letted thorow cold, further ther is no shrinking or wrinkling in
the skyn of the face. Jones, Dial.
Tokens 1
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Nominalization
Base
Definition
Earliest attestation
Example
Tokens
Writing
Write (v)
OED Writing n. 1. a. The action of one who writes, in various
senses; the penning or forming of letters or words; the using of
written characters for purposes of record, transmission of ideas,
etc. Also with out.
?c1225 (c1200) (OED)
All exercises must be done fasting, and none after meate. And I
wish you might after meate for beare writing by the space of
three houres: but if your course of life and calling will not so
permit you, you may herein follow Montagnana his counseil, to
write either standing vpright, or a little leaning and resting your
head vpon your right or left cheeke: (...). Bailey, Preseruation.
5 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Yielding
Yield (v)
OED Yielding n. 2. The giving of something as due, or as a
favour; rendering; bestowal.
1340 (OED)
And these will bee ready to manifest the same by yeelding some
fruite of their painful labour and diligence: (...). Clowes,
Artificiall.
2 (one of them a verbal gerund)
Nominalization Yexing
Base
Yex (v)
Definition OED Yexing n. Now Sc. and dial. The action of yex; †sobbing
(obs.); (most freq.) hiccuping.
Earliest attestation c1050 (OED)
Example
This herbe Auetum that men call Auete/ otherwyse Dyll. This
herbe hathe leues lyke to Fenell/ but the sede is somdele brode as
Orage sede is. The vertue of this herbe is thus. It wyll make a
ma~ pysse. Also it swageth romblynge in a mannes wombe and
wycked wyndes in the wombe. Also it destroyeth the yexynge.
Anonymous, Grete.
Tokens 1
480

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RESUMEN EN ESPAÑOL
El presente anexo ofrece un resumen en español de la tesis doctoral Las nominalizaciones
de acción en el inglés científico del período moderno temprano. Esta tesis parte de la base
de que las nominalizaciones, tales como construction ‘construcción’ o reading ‘lectura’,
son el resultado de un proceso de formación de palabras a menudo llamado a suplir las
posibles limitaciones en el vocabulario de una determinada lengua, en este caso el inglés.
A fin de comprobar esta hipótesis, se ha seleccionado el período moderno temprano (1500-
1700), por cuanto es entonces cuando se produce la mayor expansión del vocabulario en la
historia de la lengua inglesa.
El objeto específico de análisis son las nominalizaciones formadas sobre una base
verbal mediante los sufijos romances –(at)ion, –ment, –ance, –age, –ure, –al y el nativo
–ing. Las funciones y frecuencia de las varias formaciones así obtenidas se examinan en un
corpus de textos científicos y médicos procedentes del Penn-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of
Early Modern English (PPCEME; Kroch, Santorini y Delfs 2004) y en una selección de
los textos médicos recopilados en los Early Modern English Medical Texts (EMEMT;
Taavitsainen et al. 2010).
El capítulo 1 (“The concept of nominalization”) delimita el objeto de estudio y lo
define. Se abordan en él cuestiones como la difícil categorización de las nominalizaciones
de acción, dado que no son sustantivos prototípicos (no denotan objetos, sino acciones), y
se lleva a cabo asimismo una amplia revisión de la bibliografía sobre el tema, atendiendo
en particular a obras como Lees (1968 [1960]), Chomsky (1964) o Grimshaw (1990), que
se ocupan de la relación sistemática existente entre las nominalizaciones y los verbos de
los que éstas derivan. Se presta atención también a la llamada teoría lexicalista propuesta
481

RESUMEN EN ESPAÑOL
por Chosmky (1970) para dar cuenta de las diferencias entre formas como refusal y
refusing.
El capítulo 2 (“–Ing nominals: origin and development”) se centra en las
nominalizaciones en –ing (building, refusing, etc.), dado que éstas revisten características
especiales y requieren, por tanto, un tratamiento diferenciado. El sufijo –ing se usaba en
inglés antiguo para formar sustantivos de acción (gerundios) a partir de bases verbales,
pero desde el período inglés medio en adelante dichos sustantivos adquirieron
características verbales, tales como la capacidad de regir una frase nominal en función de
sujeto (Jane arriving late was surprising) u objeto (by eating apples) (ver Jespersen 1909
[1940] Vol. V: 89-90, Fanego 1996: 98). Este proceso de adquisición de características
verbales se produce paulatinamente, prolongándose a lo largo de varios siglos. Como
consecuencia, las formaciones en -ing durante el período moderno temprano se
caracterizan por una gran inestabilidad estructural, ya que conviven formas nominales (the
reading of the poem), verbales (reading the poem) y mixtas como his reading the poem o
the reading the poem. En este capítulo se interpreta además el complejo proceso de
verbalización del gerundio como un buen ejemplo de 'extensión', en el sentido de Harris y
Campbell (1995): la adquisición de características verbales se inicia en las frases
gerundivas compuestas tan sólo por Ving + postmodificadores (by reading the poem) y a
partir de ellas se extiende a todas las demás, dando lugar, inicialmente, a frases gerundivas
'mixtas' como las ya citadas his reading the poem o the reading the poem.
El capítulo 3 (“Nominal complementation and argument structure”) se ocupa de la
estructura argumental y la complementación nominal. Si bien existen similitudes obvias
entre los complementos o argumentos de las nominalizaciones y los complementos de los
482

RESUMEN EN ESPAÑOL
verbos de los que aquéllas derivan, en las nominalizaciones tiende a haber una reducción
de valencia (Mackenzie 1985: 32), ya que el proceso de nominalización reduce, en general,
el número de complementos explícitos en relación con los del verbo base. Se revisa
también la abundante bibliografía (Vendler 1968, Zubizarreta 1987, Grimshaw 1990,
Anderson 1983, Higginbotham 1983, entre otros) sobre estructura argumental, entendida
ésta como “el conjunto de argumentos seleccionados por el verbo, incluyendo el
argumento sujeto” (Culicover 1997: 17). A continuación se profundiza en la controvertida
cuestión de cuáles son exactamente los sustantivos que pueden considerarse dotados de
estructura argumental. Finalmente, este capítulo hace además una tipología exhaustiva de
los tipos de constituyentes pre- y postnucleares que pueden acompañar a las
nominalizaciones. Los constituyentes en posición prenuclear incluyen determinantes,
posesivos (bien pronombres o frases posesivas como Tom’s), adjetivos, sustantivos y,
ocasionalmente, adverbios, mientras que los constituyentes postnucleares pueden ser, entre
otros varios, frases preposicionales con of o con by, frases nominales y cláusulas de
relativo.
El capítulo 4 (“Rhetoric and the world of science in the EModE period”) se centra
en describir qué se entendía por ciencia en el período moderno temprano y en qué medida
los progresos científicos podrían haber influido en la evolución del inglés, especialmente
en el uso y frecuencia de las nominalizaciones de acción. Se muestra que en ese período
los distintos textos que pueden encuadrarse en el registro científico son bastante
heterogéneos, pero comparten ciertas características comunes tales como la búsqueda de
objetividad y un estilo ‘impersonal’. El empleo de nominalizaciones es una herramienta
valiosa para lograr esos objetivos, y contribuye además a la redistribución de la
información y la cohesión del texto. El capítulo examina también el papel desempeñado
483

RESUMEN EN ESPAÑOL
por la Royal Society y la imprenta como elementos homogeneizadores de los textos
científicos, así como la difusión de éstos entre un público cada vez más amplio. Se
proporciona asimismo información exhaustiva sobre el progresivo abandono del latín
como lengua de los textos científicos (la llamada ‘vernacularización’ de la ciencia), y las
consiguientes dificultades del inglés para ser aceptado como lengua vehicular de la ciencia,
dada su carencia del vocabulario técnico necesario para cumplir tal función (Jones 1953,
Gotti 2006). Para solventar estas dificultades, se recurrió sobre todo a dos estrategias, la
creación de nuevas voces, especialmente por afijación, y los préstamos de otras lenguas,
sobre todo las lenguas clásicas. En las secciones finales del capítulo se atiende en
particular al registro o subregistro médico, que será de gran relevancia para el capítulo 6
más adelante, y se examinan las características de diversos tipos de textos médicos, de
acuerdo con el público al que van dirigidos.
El capítulo 5 (“Corpus and methodology”) se ocupa, como su propio título indica,
de distintas cuestiones metodológicas previas al análisis de corpus propiamente dicho. Se
hace en primer lugar una descripción pormenorizada de los corpus usados y se justifica su
elección. Más adelante, se lleva a cabo un análisis pormenorizado de los sufijos objeto de
estudio, atendiendo a sus características morfológicas y semánticas. Finalmente, la última
sección del capítulo da cuenta de los parámetros empleados para clasificar los tipos de
nominalizaciones identificados en los distintos corpus; esto es, los constituyentes de la
frase nominalizada (a. núcleo nominal como único constituyente; b. sólo constituyentes
prenucleares; c. sólo constituyentes postnucleares; d. constituyentes pre- y postnucleares),
su función en la cláusula superordinada (sujeto, objeto, predicativo, complemento de
preposición, absoluto, suplemento o modificador) y, en el caso de las nominalizaciones en
–ing, su sintaxis interna (verbal, nominal o mixta).
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RESUMEN EN ESPAÑOL
El análisis de corpus se lleva a cabo en el capítulo 6 (“Findings”), donde se ofrecen
los datos empíricos relativos al uso y evolución de las nominalizaciones en los textos
científicos del período moderno temprano. Este capítulo se estructura en tres partes. En la
primera, de carácter más general, se analiza el uso y frecuencia de las nominalizaciones de
acción en los textos científicos. La segunda se centra en las nominalizaciones romances y
en el método o métodos por los cuáles entraron a formar parte del léxico del inglés.
Finalmente, la última sección analiza las diferencias en el tipo y uso de las
nominalizaciones empleadas en los diversos subgéneros del inglés médico.
Los datos del estudio de corpus revelan que tanto las nominalizaciones en –ing
como las romances aumentan su frecuencia durante el período objeto de estudio, aunque el
incremento es mayor en el caso de las nominalizaciones romances. Ello se debe a la
necesidad de adaptar la lengua vernácula al registro científico. En una palabra, la falta de
vocabulario técnico se suple en gran medida con el uso de formaciones tomadas de lenguas
de prestigio como el francés y el latín.
El análisis demuestra también que a lo largo del período moderno temprano se
produce un descenso en las nominalizaciones en –ing de carácter nominal, descenso que
tiene lugar en paralelo al incremento de las nominalizaciones en -ing de carácter verbal,
especialmente de aquéllas que sólo poseen constituyentes postnucleares. Por el contrario,
la mayoría de las nominalizaciones romances van acompañadas de constituyentes pre- y
postnucleares. Estos datos apuntan a la especialización del sufijo –ing en formaciones de
carácter verbal. El tipo de constituyente que acompaña a los distintos tipos de
nominalización está en consonancia con lo expuesto. Mientras que las nominalizaciones
romances y las nominalizacionesn en –ing de carácter nominal suelen ir precedidas por
485

RESUMEN EN ESPAÑOL
determinantes, adjetivos y posesivos, las nominalizaciones verbales en –ing raras veces
contienen constituyentes prenucleares.
En cuanto a su comportamiento sintáctico, no se observan grandes diferencias entre
los distintos tipos de nominalizaciones ya que todas ellas se emplean predominantemente
como complementos de preposición. Esta tendencia, sin embargo, es más acusada en el
caso de las nominalizaciones verbales en –ing.
Por lo que se refiere a la productividad de los distintos sufijos, los resultados
revelan que –ing es el sufijo más frecuente: se combina con bases nativas (working,
seeking), con bases no nativas, especialmente romances (crossing, evaporating), y también
con bases escandinavas como mistaking. Todo ello indica que el sufijo era transparente, ya
que los hablantes recurrían a él para crear nuevos nombres de acción. La frecuencia de los
sufijos romances también se incrementó mucho durante el período moderno temprano, en
especial la de –(at)ion, pero su empleo está restringido a bases romances (attraction,
suppuration). No hay ejemplos del sufijo –al en los corpus y el resto de los sufijos pueden
considerarse marginales si se comparan con la frecuencia de –(at)ion. Sin embargo, un
dato interesante es que todos los ejemplos de nominalizaciones que combinan un sufijo
romance con una base germánica (ailment, hindrance, tarriance, tillage) se forman con
uno de esos sufijos de baja frecuencia. Otro resultado destacado es la presencia en los
corpus de 103 dobletes del tipo declaring-declaration, en los que ambos elementos se
forman sobre la misma base. En la mayoría de los casos, las formaciones romances se
incorporaron al léxico del inglés ya en el período medieval y más tarde sus bases se
utilizaron para nuevas formaciones con el sufijo nativo. Los miembros del doblete difieren
en distintos aspectos, entre otros el tipo de constituyentes con los que combinan: en tanto
486

RESUMEN EN ESPAÑOL
las formaciones romances suelen tener elementos pre- y postnucleares, las formaciones en
–ing suelen aparecer tan sólo con elementos postnucleares.
La sección 6.2 trata de desentrañar los factores que puedan haber motivado el
enorme incremento de las formaciones romances durante el período examinado, así como
el método o métodos por los cuáles entraron a formar parte del léxico del inglés. Los
resultados demuestran que la mayor parte de las nominalizaciones romances se
introdujeron en inglés como préstamos del latín o del francés y que la mayoría formaban
parte del vocabulario del inglés ya en el período medieval. Las nominalizaciones
documentadas por vez primera en el período moderno temprano lo hicieron entre los años
1500 y 1640, coincidiendo con el momento en el que se introducen más préstamos en el
léxico inglés (cf. Görlach 1991: 137; Barber 1997 [1976]: 222). De acuerdo con mis datos,
no se puede concluir que esta tendencia a introducir nominalizaciones y préstamos en la
lengua vernácula se deba al proceso de traducción de los originales científicos. Una
explicación más plausible es que los autores de los textos científicos tenían un buen
conocimiento de las lenguas clásicas, y por tanto podían recurrir con facilidad al empleo de
términos romances para cubrir las posibles deficiencias del vocabulario.
Finalmente, la sección 6.3 se ocupa de analizar las posibles diferencias en la
frecuencia y tipo de nominalizaciones en diferentes clases de textos médicos, de acuerdo
con variables tales como el público al que aquéllos van dirigidos. A tal fin, se analizaron
las nominalizaciones en libros de remedios (los textos más populares), tratados quirúrgicos
y tratados académicos, siendo estos últimos los textos más especializados.
Como se pone de relieve por el resumen precedente, esta tesis lleva a cabo un
análisis exhaustivo de las nominalizaciones de acción en el período moderno temprano, y
487

RESUMEN EN ESPAÑOL
de su uso en los textos científicos. Se ha demostrado que las nominalizaciones en –ing
evolucionaron hacia un patrón estructural más verbal, que se acompaña sólo de
constituyentes postnucleares. Este proceso, sin embargo, es gradual y durante el período
coexistieron formas nominales, verbales y mixtas. También se demostró que variables
como el público o la categoría textual influyen en el uso y frecuencia de las
nominalizaciones. En el transcurso del tiempo, éstas se convirtieron en marcadores del
estilo científico, dada su utilidad para distribuir la información y compactarla en forma de
frases nominales.
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Barber, Charles. 1997 [1976]. Early Modern English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
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